News Article

Imperial Payroll Partnership Recognised at HPMA Awards 2009

9th July 2009

Equiniti ICS was recognised for its superior payroll software at the Healthcare People Management Association Awards, as the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust was highly commended for its 'Innovation and Best Practice using ESR' for a project developed in partnership with the company. The 'Adaptive ESR Payroll Project', which was nominated for the award, has led to substantial cost-saving and efficiency benefits for the Trust, since it was rolled out in April 2007.

The HPMA awards, held on 25th June, consider the business need, project design, evaluation, measurable benefits, and the difference to patient or client care resulting from the project, and also consider how the learning is shared with other Trusts. The Equiniti ICS project involved the creation of a unified, streamlined and adaptive payroll service for the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust's 10,000 staff utilising the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR), a system which has been phased in over the last five years and is now used by all NHS Trusts across England and Wales.

Equiniti ICS, which now provides payroll processing services to four major Health Trusts in the UK, was delighted that the project was recognised as an example of best practice. Mervyn McCormick, NHS Business Manager with Equiniti ICS, said: "Imperial College Healthcare has been fully committed to achieving excellence in this project from its inception. We initially undertook a collaborative study and payroll process review with full participation of all staff before establishing the project design and business need. The project has resulted in improved accuracy and consistency, and has also achieved substantial payroll cost reduction. It has been a resounding success and we congratulate the Trust on being highly commended at the Awards."

The project has also improved patient care as it is quicker and easier for Trust staff to complete administrative tasks associated with payroll, thereby allowing more time to be devoted to patients.

HPMA judges commented: "We were very impressed by the high standard of the entry from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The project, developed in partnership with Equiniti ICS, is both original and innovative and I am sure that the approach will be followed by other Trusts, given the tangible benefits that the 'Adaptive ESR Payroll Project' has achieved."