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Bob Walton, 77, of Lostock, had not been receiving his mail regularly for months. He didn’t know an envelope was on its way that would affect his life.
It would inform him he needed to be assessed for serious skin cancer – melanoma.
He said: “Ordinary post and circulars hadn’t been delivered regularly for a couple of months. It became obvious that there was a problem with it.
“There would be no mail for a day or two – then on the third day, we’d get a pile of post.
“What’s worse, first class mail, which people pay a premium for, wasn’t coming on time.”
Bob had an appointment at the Royal Bolton Hospital – which he did not know had referred him to Manchester’s The Christie NHS Foundation Trust to be diagnosed for a melanoma.
And The Christie had sent him a letter inviting him to an urgent appointment on Tuesday, March 25.
He said: “The envelope was to arrive the Thursday before that. It was dated March 20 and clearly marked first class.
“But it arrived the day of the appointment, on the 25th, along with a pile of envelopes with letters written on different dates.
“[Thankfully], The Christie had rung me on my home number [the Friday before the appointment, March 21].
“If they hadn’t managed to reach me or I’d not been in the house to take the call, I wouldn’t have known I had to go.
“I felt very annoyed. I could have missed an urgent hospital appointment because of Royal Mail.
“Some people rely on the postal service. It’s just crazy.”
Afterwards, Bob was diagnosed with a melanoma.
He said: “I had one mole removed and some other treatment. I’m in the process of being investigated.”
He also emailed the Royal Mail about the situation and received an apology saying there were issues in his area “reported throughout February and March” likely causing his mail to be delayed.
It is understood the delays on Bob’s route were caused by “resourcing challenges such as sick absences”.
But even after that apology, mail from The Christie continued to be delivered late.
He said: “This Saturday (April 5), I got another first class letter from them dated Wednesday, April 2.
“It was the result of the skin cancer consultation. The problem continues despite Royal Mail saying they’re going to look into the issue and make sure it has improved.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring all items of mail arrive on time. We’ll continue to drive improvements to ensure both this customer and everyone across Bolton receives the service they expect.”
