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Royal Mail have drafted in postal workers from England to tackle a mounting backlog of un-delivered letters and parcels in Derry, The Irish News understands.
The move comes amid a number of claims that people are missing hospital appointments thanks to letters arriving late with some accusing Royal Mail of “prioritising parcels” over letters.
Reports from October this year revealed that over 460,000 hospital appointments were missed across Northern Ireland in the last five years.
In the last year alone, this is the equivalent of 278 missed appointments a day.
It was suggested at the time that tougher measures are needed to improve attendance, and that people should lose their place on waiting lists if they miss two appointments without good reason. However people are being struck off the list due to missed letters.
Stevie Gillespie, from the Waterside area in Derry, said he has missed several hospital letters for the Cardiac Clinic, after being told he had a serious condition in the summer.
He said: “I was told I have heart failure in the summer, so to miss a cardiac appointment, I just couldn’t afford it. It’s so frustrating. I know for a fact I have been sent letters, for two appointments, the ladies at the hospital told me. That was in September, and it is now December, I am yet to receive anything.
“Thankfully, I am on my care app, so I managed to get to my appointment. I check the app every day, but I shouldn’t have to do that and it doesn’t suit everyone. You should be able to trust if there is a letter for you, you will receive it. I’m stressed and worried. I can’t afford to be stressed and worried with heart problems. It’s a joke.
“My friend who delivers post in the area is told to leave the letters, and to prioritise parcels. One post man was told to deliver letters for ‘even’ number houses, what is that about?”
Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy added that it is a significant issue in Derry, and that Royal Mail need to do more. He added: “The depot in Derry is too small, parcels are being prioritised. We don’t want or need that to be the case. People are frustrated, but so are the front-line workers, they are under extreme pressure.
“Bringing in staff at this time of year is too late, besides, it’s an all-year long issue. The two biggest issues we have in Derry are post and health care, and this overlaps the two. It’s a result of privatisation. Royal Mail are failing to meet their public service obligations.”
And Derry is not the only place in the north that is experiencing delays.
In Co Down, DUP councillor for the Portaferry area, Alderman Robert Adair said people in his area have been struck off the waiting list after one missed appointment, that wasn’t their fault, telling The Irish News that includes himself.
He said: “We are very concerned; we have had problems with this for quite some time. Me and other local representatives met with the postal service last year, and discussed these topics, but it seems that we are back at square one now and nothing is being sorted.
“It used to be the 1st class would arrive the next day, and 2nd class would arrive in two-three days. Now first class takes nearly a week. Last year I posted my Christmas cards two days before the cut off for first class, and none of them arrived before Christmas.
“What is worse is I sent a sympathy card to someone, offering them condolences, and letting them know I could not attend the funeral, it didn’t arrive for 6 months, and I did not know they never received it.
“Medical letters are extremely important. If people are missing appointments, they are struck off the register, I missed one and I was struck off, there is nothing you can do about it, I had to wait a considerable amount of time to get a new appointment.
“What is welcome is the department of health has launched the ‘my care’ app, however not everyone knows about it.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important NHS letters are, particularly when they relate to hospital appointments, and we take any reports of delay extremely seriously. The vast majority of mail continues to be delivered on time.
“We’ve worked closely with the NHS to introduce a dedicated NHS barcode, which went live in July, to help prioritise and optimise the delivery of hospital letters during busy periods.
“At busy times, it’s normal for us to move resource within our network to support delivery offices. This can include bringing in additional support from other areas to help deliver everyone’s letters and parcels and minimise disruption for customers. These are routine.”
When asked if the extra help with delays would go beyond the festive period, as this is an on-going issue, Royal Mail declined to comment.
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