To ask the Minister of Health whether (i) his Department; or (ii) the Health and Social Care Trusts, have engaged with Royal Mail in relation to patient appointments being missed due to delays in letter deliveries.

My Department has not engaged with Royal Mail in relation to patients’ appointments being missed due to delays in postal deliveries.

In respect of the Health and Social Care Trusts, Belfast Trust has advised that it holds regular contract meetings with Royal Mail as part of the overarching postal services contract. The issue of delayed post to patients and clients has been raised on several occasions at these meetings, and the Trust will continue to monitor the position.

Northern and South Eastern Trusts have advised that no engagement has taken place with Royal Mail in relation patients’ appointments being missed due to delays in letter deliveries.

Southern and Western Trusts have not engaged directly with Royal Mail. However, both Trusts use a contracted supplier, Postal Sort, which has recently approached Royal Mail regarding delivery issues on the Trusts’ behalf.

To minimise any patient inconvenience, Health and Social Care Trusts operate a dual notification system for appointment reminders. In addition to issuing standard appointment letters, most services also provide text message reminders to notify patients of their upcoming appointments.

In addition, the Encompass system is now fully operational across Northern Ireland. Through the My Care application, all patients and service users can securely access a subset of their health and social care record, including appointment information, clinic letters, medication details, and some test results. Users can also view future appointments and track the progress of their treatment.