Related Articles
John Murphy, who suffers from bone cancer, had been due to undergo a biopsy on a cancerous sore on his temple at Broomfield Hospital.
Four days earlier, Mr Murphy had attended a clinic for a routine blood test. However, the letter containing his INR number – required by the hospital’s minor operations team before surgery could go ahead – never arrived.
Without the result, doctors were unable to proceed, leaving Mr Murphy and his wife Joan scrambling to find a solution on the day of the appointment.
The couple rushed to Southend Hospital in the hope of having the INR printed off, but were told the clinic had already closed at 11am.
Royal Mail has since confirmed that letters are delivered to the Murphys’ address only every other day, citing “local resourcing challenges”.
Joan Murphy, also 75, said:“We needed the INR number for the procedure to take place because the doctors wouldn’t operate if there was too much risk of bleeding.
“The hospital sent the letter – it wasn’t their fault – but it just wasn’t delivered. We had no way of showing the results and it was dangerous. Things have gone seriously backwards.”
Mrs Murphy said missing the appointment was devastating, particularly given the urgency of her husband’s condition.
“To not get the post on that Friday was dreadful,” she said. “We had to wait another two weeks for another appointment, and for a cancer growth that’s a very long time.”
Mr Murphy eventually received the letter containing the INR number ten days after the test was taken. He was only able to undergo surgery a few weeks ago.
“In the end they didn’t even do a biopsy – they went straight into the operation,” Mrs Murphy added.
The couple’s experience comes amid wider concerns about postal delays across Southend. Lib Dem councillor for Eastwood Park, Paul Collins, said Royal Mail was failing to deliver letters to vulnerable residents awaiting life‑changing medical results.
Mrs Murphy said post deliveries in Eastwood had become increasingly unreliable.
“We hardly ever see the postman now,” she said.
In a statement, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Murphy’s experience and understand how concerning it can be when important post does not arrive as expected. Mail is currently being delivered to Mr Murphy’s address at least every other day due to local resourcing challenges. We are recruiting more posties and anticipate our service will return to its usual high standards in due course.”
