Flight to Derry

[yarbles]

Reports of junior trainee managers being flown from England Sat/Sun and put up in hotels to assist with backlog in Derry, N.Ireland. Can anyone confirm/deny this please?

[Mr Rush]

It was mentioned in the Failing Offices List thread last week.

Having talked to my postie, it appears Londonderry is so bad they are trying to import staff from anywhere and put them up in hotels, must be a super-duper s**t-show. Nobody took up the offer in my old office.

[ExeterCelt]

Yes. It’s true to a degree that they offered staff a stint in Derry, stay in hotels etc to clear a spectacular failing of Delivery in the area.

[twoloops]

Thats the type of story with enough evidence, a tabloid would pay for a good night out

[Peabrain22]

Is it Derry or londonderry

[Peabrain22]

Junior trainee managers?? So are these out in vans in deleveries or sitting in the offices in derry/londonderry??

[thefox]

Is it Derry or londonderry

Depends what side of the fence your on.

[ExeterCelt]

Is it Derry or londonderry

Derry.

The other place only exists in the fiction section in a library or at the BBC according to my colleagues.

[thefox]

This could get interesting

[thefox]

Think derry was original name but london part added later,up to individuals to call it what they prefer for me it will always be londonderry .

[scoobydo79]

This happened at Oxford several months ago too

[Ozzvaldo]

We've got well over a dozen managers that have been dragged in from all over our divisional area to supposedly make inroads into the dreadful backlog that has been a feature of my shitty office for years. It's been enlightening to observe how little they're actually loading into their vans considering all the bullying we endure with regard to workloads, multiple days mail, bringing stuff back at finishing time etc. From our COM. I haven't seen him having a go at this gaggle of shiny arses for their obvious lack of endeavour.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Reports of junior trainee managers being flown from England Sat/Sun and put up in hotels to assist with backlog in Derry, N.Ireland. Can anyone confirm/deny this please?

100% true there was an article in the Irish news about it, but it was behind a pay wall.

[POSTMAN]

Royal Mail draft in postal staff from England amid mounting pressure on Derry operation

People missing hospital appointments due to Royal Mail delays as parcels reportedly being prioritised over letters

Royal Mail have drafted in postal workers from England to tackle a mounting backlog of un-delivered letters and parcels in Derry, The Irish News understands.

The move comes amid a number of claims that people are missing hospital appointments thanks to letters arriving late with some accusing Royal Mail of “prioritising parcels” over letters.

Reports from October this year revealed that over 460,000 hospital appointments were missed across Northern Ireland in the last five years.
In the last year alone, this is the equivalent of 278 missed appointments a day.

It was suggested at the time that tougher measures are needed to improve attendance, and that people should lose their place on waiting lists if they miss two appointments without good reason. However people are being struck off the list due to missed letters.

Stevie Gillespie, from the Waterside area in Derry, said he has missed several hospital letters for the Cardiac Clinic, after being told he had a serious condition in the summer.

He said: “I was told I have heart failure in the summer, so to miss a cardiac appointment, I just couldn’t afford it. It’s so frustrating. I know for a fact I have been sent letters, for two appointments, the ladies at the hospital told me. That was in September, and it is now December, I am yet to receive anything.

“Thankfully, I am on my care app, so I managed to get to my appointment. I check the app every day, but I shouldn’t have to do that and it doesn’t suit everyone. You should be able to trust if there is a letter for you, you will receive it. I’m stressed and worried. I can’t afford to be stressed and worried with heart problems. It’s a joke.

“My friend who delivers post in the area is told to leave the letters, and to prioritise parcels. One post man was told to deliver letters for ‘even’ number houses, what is that about?”

Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy added that it is a significant issue in Derry, and that Royal Mail need to do more. He added: “The depot in Derry is too small, parcels are being prioritised. We don’t want or need that to be the case. People are frustrated, but so are the front-line workers, they are under extreme pressure.

“Bringing in staff at this time of year is too late, besides, it’s an all-year long issue. The two biggest issues we have in Derry are post and health care, and this overlaps the two. It’s a result of privatisation. Royal Mail are failing to meet their public service obligations.”
And Derry is not the only place in the north that is experiencing delays.

In Co Down, DUP councillor for the Portaferry area, Alderman Robert Adair said people in his area have been struck off the waiting list after one missed appointment, that wasn’t their fault, telling The Irish News that includes himself.

He said: “We are very concerned; we have had problems with this for quite some time. Me and other local representatives met with the postal service last year, and discussed these topics, but it seems that we are back at square one now and nothing is being sorted.

“It used to be the 1st class would arrive the next day, and 2nd class would arrive in two-three days. Now first class takes nearly a week. Last year I posted my Christmas cards two days before the cut off for first class, and none of them arrived before Christmas.

“What is worse is I sent a sympathy card to someone, offering them condolences, and letting them know I could not attend the funeral, it didn’t arrive for 6 months, and I did not know they never received it.

“Medical letters are extremely important. If people are missing appointments, they are struck off the register, I missed one and I was struck off, there is nothing you can do about it, I had to wait a considerable amount of time to get a new appointment.

“What is welcome is the department of health has launched the ‘my care’ app, however not everyone knows about it.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important NHS letters are, particularly when they relate to hospital appointments, and we take any reports of delay extremely seriously. The vast majority of mail continues to be delivered on time.

“We’ve worked closely with the NHS to introduce a dedicated NHS barcode, which went live in July, to help prioritise and optimise the delivery of hospital letters during busy periods.

“At busy times, it’s normal for us to move resource within our network to support delivery offices. This can include bringing in additional support from other areas to help deliver everyone’s letters and parcels and minimise disruption for customers. These are routine.”

When asked if the extra help with delays would go beyond the festive period, as this is an on-going issue, Royal Mail declined to comment.

[scotchy1962]

Think derry was original name but london part added later,up to individuals to call it what they prefer for me it will always be londonderry .

Funny thing about my wee country, i call it Londonderry as that's the name it was given when it became a city, others think anything to do with the british is foul and won't even utter it.
I will give you a example, there is a type of potato called a "British Queen" and it's very popular both North and South of the border, it's what you call a early new potato much like a "Jersey Royal" but in this country certain people call them just "Queens" or sometimes they bring them from over the border and call them "Dublin Queens" rather than speak the dreaded "B" word.
Now if that doesn't show the depths some people will go to i don't know what does.