Statement on the Modern Slavery Act 2015

Our Business

Bestway Panacea Holdings Limited (BPHL) is a private limited company headquartered in Manchester, England. It is the holding company of a number of subsidiaries which operates two businesses: Well and Bestway Medhub.

Well is a leading community pharmacy and healthcare provider with around 780 pharmacies across the UK, mainly in community and health centre locations. Well provides high quality healthcare products and services aimed at improving community health. Well also works closely with the NHS and local healthcare providers to develop and deliver commissioned services to address specific health needs within communities.

Bestway Medhub is a wholesale business supplying a range of pharmacy dispensing products and services to the independent pharmacy sector in the UK.

The Board of Directors of BPHL have delegated authority for the running of Well and Bestway Medhub to an Executive.

Our Commitment and Policies

Well and Bestway Medhub are committed to opposing slavery and human trafficking in its direct operations and in the indirect operations of its supply chain. Well and Bestway Medhub will not knowingly support or do business with any organisation involved in slavery or human trafficking. The detail around how we do this is set out in our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking policy which is supported by policies on Human Resources and Whistleblowing and by the framework and policies we have in place for the procurement of goods and services for the business. Employees who need to understand our commitment as part of their roles, in particular those working in human resources, agency staff recruitment and in the procurement of goods and services, are provided with training on our standards and processes and on how to spot and react to modern slavery issues.

Our Workforce

We consider our workforce of over 7,000 staff to be valued members and stakeholders of our business and treat them with care and respect. We operate an employee help line where staff can access appropriate advice and support for their safety and wellbeing and a whistleblowing service to ensure that they can raise concerns directly to senior management without fear of retribution, victimisation or detriment.

Our Supply Chain

Our framework and policies for the procurement of goods and services for the business requires an assessment of all new suppliers based on a number of risk factors including the nature of services, spend, country of origin and standard operating procedures. Any areas of concern are investigated fully and we will not trade with any business if issues come to light as a result of the risk assessment which cannot be resolved by a supplier.

Next Steps

We are working towards implementation of the following steps:

  • Including specific questions on Modern Slavery Act compliance in our due diligence process for suppliers;
  • Reviewing and conducting checks on our existing suppliers on a risk assessed basis for Modern Slavery Act compliance;
  • Obtaining a contractual right to request information and audit suppliers at our discretion with regards to Modern Slavery; and
  • Including Modern Slavery Act compliance in our supplier audits.

Responsibility for this Statement

The Executive of Well and Bestway Medhub have overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with this statement and our related policies. Management at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand this statement and comply with our Anti- Slavery and Human Trafficking policy.

Our Legal Department has primary and day-to-day responsibility for dealing with this statement and any queries about it. The internal audit team is responsible for auditing internal control systems and procedures to ensure that they are effective in countering modern slavery.

This statement is made pursuant to Section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and has been approved by the Executive of Well and Bestway Medhub and will be reviewed and updated annually.

John Nuttal

CEO signature

Chief Executive Officer

Well/Bestway Medhub

9th June 2017