Protections on NHS letter delivery agreed between Royal Mail, NHS leaders and patient bodies
Royal Mail, NHS England, NHS Providers, Healthwatch England, National Voices, and the Patients Association have written an open letter to Ofcom highlighting the introduction of new protections to ensure reliable and efficient postal service for NHS patients.
The postal regulator has closed its public consultation to reform the universal postal delivery service, with changes to be announced this summer.
Since the beginning of the consultation, we have worked with Royal Mail and NHS and patient organisations to ensure that proposed changes improve timely delivery of NHS letters.
The improvements include:
- A new Royal Mail NHS-specific barcode to support mail delivery teams ensures that NHS letters are delivered on time, including at times of service disruptions. Once implemented, the barcode will replace manual extraction of NHS letters and be used to locate NHS letters where Royal Mail is not meeting expected delivery standards.
- A new briefing for NHS organisations to increase awareness and uptake of the variety of Royal Mail services for the timely delivery of NHS letters.
Last year, NHS and patient groups raised their concerns with Royal Mail and Ofcom following plans to delay bulk mail of NHS appointment letters last year.
In the open letter, the health leaders, joined by Royal Mail, have shared how they have worked together to meet the needs of the public and the NHS, as well as pledging to ensure that any future reform reflects the needs of the NHS and patients.
