Residents unhappy over 'crazy' postal delays

People in Worcestershire have hit out over postal delays, saying that they are having to wait several weeks for important post to arrive.

Some residents told the BBC they had missed hospital appointments because of the sporadic deliveries.

The problems have led to Worcester MP Tom Collins keeping a heat map of the problem areas in the city, after he branded the situation "shocking".

A Royal Mail spokesperson said it was battling "short-term issues such as sickness absence", but added that it was working to clear any outstanding mail.

Collins said he had met with Royal Mail bosses after being contacted by "many, many people" in recent months, who had expressed dismay over the service.

"I want to be honest, it was a frustrating conversation. I pushed for some real answers on what they're going to do to find the faults, to work out what is going wrong, and we struggled to even get them to acknowledge the three-week delays people are seeing in their mail," he said.

He added that a second meeting will be taking place with Royal Mail next month.

People across Worcestershire said they had noticed problems starting to surface last year.

David Thatcher, from Worcester, said: "It's been a problem for around 18 months now.

"The postal service is so haphazard, I end up getting one stack of post every four or five weeks sometimes.

"I'm disabled - I had a stroke in 2023 and need the mail to arrive on time.

"I was sent a letter from the NHS for an appointment at Malvern hospital in May, only for it to arrive in early July.

"It's crazy. If I don't get letters from the NHS on time, I can't get to the appointment - it causes me real stress."

Lisa Hanson, from Inkberrow, added: "Around once every three of four weeks we're getting a load of post wrapped in an elastic band, most of it out of date.

"It's a real problem - my sister lives in Stourport and says they're having the same issues."

Debra Jayne, from Worcester, said: "We live on a new estate and haven't got a dedicated post person. Formally, the service is non-existent.

"There's one young woman [a postie] who comes to do the rounds on overtime, and that's all we get. People have missed hospital appointments because they've been waiting."

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said it had changed the way it communicates with patients due to the problems.

They added: "We're aware of concerns about Royal Mail delays, but we are continuing to send out confirmation letters as not all patients are being affected.

"The majority of letters are sent out far enough in advance of their appointments that a delay in delivery should not cause them any major difficulties."

Royal Mail said it knew "how important reliable deliveries are", and claimed that nationally 92 per cent of letters arrive on time.

A spokesperson added: "At times, short-term issues such as sickness absence can affect individual routes, and when this happens our teams work to clear any outstanding mail as quickly as possible."

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