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Postal workers could be utilised to check on the wellbeing of the elderly and to deliver essential items, such as prescriptions, a trades union has suggested.
The Communication Workers Union is understood to have proposed the idea to the loss-making Royal Mail to build on its claim “we own trust on the doorstep,” according to Mirror Online.
Royal Mail’s army of 120,000 frontline postal workers could mirror schemes adopted by postal services in Europe, it has been reported.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said: “There is something secure about seeing a postal worker coming down the street. Postal workers already do a lot of work for their community voluntarily, including helping with deliveries for food banks, so it would be formalising some of these things.
“We would also like to see them integrating with some of the UK’s leading pharmacies to deliver prescriptions.”
The French service, La Poste, operates home checks for the elderly and vulnerable under its “watch over my parents” scheme, costing about £17 a month for one weekly visit from their regular postman or woman.
But the frequency of visits can be increased to up to six times a week.
Postal workers enter a customer’s house for a 10-minute chat and check whether they have any urgent health problems or need help with food, medicine or repairs.
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A service like this has been running in the Channel Islands for several years, costing £6.75 a visit.
It is run by a company called Call & Check and the visits are carried out by Jersey Post’s workers, who ask vulnerable residents how they are and if they need help. If assistance is required, a GP, pharmacy, local authority or trusted nominated contact, often a relative, will be contacted.
In a 2018 trial, postal workers visited elderly people in New Malden in southwest London, Whitby in North Yorkshire and Liverpool. It was funded by the Home Office to test whether tackling social isolation in the over-65s could make them less likely to fall victim to crime.
Postal staff asked participants five standard questions about their welfare and connected them with the relevant authorities if necessary.
The Home Office concluded the trial was successful and “had the potential to improve the wellbeing of participants,” but the CWU claimed the plan was allowed to drift.
Royal Mail said: “We are working closely with CWU to make a series of improvements to our network and customer offerings.
“This includes exploring a range of ideas for how we can diversify and grow the business.”
But Mr Ward responded: “The (obligation) is not economically sustainable if you base its future purely on letters. We like it, we want to keep it, but to do so we need to expand the role of postal workers.”
Royal Mail is required to deliver letters six days a week to every address in the UK at a standard price.
