NHS to be given its own Royal Mail postage class

The NHS is to be given its own postage class, in a move that the Health Secretary said will stop patients facing the “frustration of missing appointments” due to letters arriving late in the post.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said an agreement between the Royal Mail and the health service to introduce a new barcode system specifically for processing NHS letters would “ensure patients get their appointment information when they need it”.

A letter to Ofcom, seen by the Telegraph, and co-signed both NHS and Royal Mail leaders, stated that the two organisations had “mutually agreed to the introduction of a new Royal Mail NHS-specific barcode” and outlined how this barcode will separate medical or appointment letters and prioritise them to be dispatched quickly.

The paper reported that this will happen even during periods of national disruption such as strikes, when Royal Mail deliveries are unable to hit their usual standards.

Mr Streeting said: “Too many patients have experienced the frustration of missing appointments because NHS letters arrive too late in the post.

“As we modernise the NHS and upgrade the NHS App, I’m aware that some patients will always prefer letters.

“The important thing is that people have a genuine choice. This agreement will help ensure patients get their appointment information when they need it, however they choose to receive it.”

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS medical director, said the changes would “help ensure that patients always receive the vital information necessary for them to access NHS services they need, as quickly as possible and even in times of disruption”.