Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of postal delays on the timely delivery of referral letters between primary and secondary care.

The monitoring of National Health Service patient correspondence, including appointment letters, is the responsibility of individual NHS providers. Data is not held centrally on the reasons why an appointment is registered as a ‘did not attend’. This includes whether appointments have been missed specifically because a letter has not been received by the patient. Data is also not held on the number of patient samples sent via Royal Mail that have been rendered unusable due to late arrival at laboratories in each of the last five years. Therefore, no estimate has been made of the number of NHS appointments missed as a result of delays in the delivery of appointment letters by Royal Mail in the last 12 months, nor of the cost of repeat appointments, sample kits, and additional clinical activity caused by postal delays. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of routine cases becoming urgent as a result of appointment letters being delayed in the post. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of postal delays on the timely delivery of referral letters between primary and secondary care. No guidance has been issued to NHS trusts and general practices on the use of alternative communication methods in areas affected by Royal Mail delays.

The Government’s focus on shifting from ‘analogue to digital’ will streamline information and communication processes, including by improving the NHS App. This will make it easier and quicker for patients to access information about their appointments, to cancel and reschedule appointments and to receive correspondence on NHS test results. 96% of acute trusts in England now allow patients to view appointment information via the NHS App if they wish, reducing reliance on physical letters. Usage has increased significantly, with the App now supporting approximately eight million patient–trust interactions per month, an increase of 82% compared to a year ago. It also saves staff time to focus on providing high quality, non-digital communication for those who want and need it.