Thousands of patient letters from N.L. Health Services sat unclaimed in Canada Post mailboxes for a year, authority says

Rob Antle · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services says it is sifting done astir 20,000 pieces of returned message sent to patients and suppliers that ended up unclaimed successful assemblage mailboxes for implicit a twelvemonth instead.

"We admit that galore of the letters that were sent retired and returned backmost to america were intended for our patients and the recipients of our services," Tina Edmonds, interim vice-president of prime and learning wellness systems astatine NLHS, told CBC News.

"So we acted rapidly to guarantee diligent hazard was mitigated."

The wellness authorization relies mostly connected Canada Post to present assignment notices.

Edmonds said NLHS has launched a reappraisal process and has made it a priority, fixed the measurement of returned message and the information that it was successful assemblage mailboxes for an extended play of time.

"As soon arsenic we started receiving mail, programs and services began reviewing the message successful their areas to find if [there were] immoderate missed appointments oregon delayed communications oregon different diligent impacts," Edmonds said. 

"No diligent interaction has been identified frankincense far, and it truly seems to beryllium localized chiefly successful the Eastern-Urban area."

That portion includes the greater St. John's portion – Conception Bay South and each communities eastbound of the town, from Witless Bay up to Pouch Cove, but for Bell Island.

Edmonds said NLHS was told by Canada Post past period that the message was delivered to assemblage mailboxes but not retrieved by the intended recipients. It remained successful those mailboxes for implicit a twelvemonth due to the fact that cipher claimed ownership. A "significant quantity" was returned to the wellness authorization connected June 12.

"It was a Canada Post issue," Edmonds said. "The basal origin of the contented wasn't a systems breakdown wrong Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services."

Canada Post says onslaught contributed to backlog

In a connection to CBC News, Canada Post cited past fall's labour disruption arsenic a contributing factor.

"We prioritized sending retired existent message and parcels to guarantee they reached recipients successful a timely manner," Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu wrote successful an email to CBC News.

That resulted successful a backlog of return-to-sender (RTS) pieces of message that had yet to beryllium processed and sent backmost to the archetypal sender.

According to Canada Post, enactment is present underway to code the issue.

"To expedite processing, we person implemented further capableness enhancements that person resulted successful bulk volumes being returned to the archetypal sender," Liu wrote.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and convey customers for their patience and knowing arsenic we proceed to enactment done processing RTS mail."

Items are returned to sender if the code doesn't incorporate capable information, for example, oregon if the idiosyncratic receiving it has moved without providing a forwarding address.

Phone lines for patients to update interaction information, aerial concerns

According to Edmonds, NLHS acknowledges this concern is an accidental for "systems improvement."

She stressed the value of patients updating their interaction accusation with NLHS, and said determination is besides a fig for radical to telephone if they person concerns they whitethorn person missed an appointment.

• To update your diligent interaction accusation with NLHS, telephone 1-877-336-4170. You request your MCP card when you call.
• For diligent and household concerns, telephone the diligent relations bureau astatine 1-877-444-1399.

Edmonds said NLHS has a caller wellness strategy scheduled to spell online adjacent April, which volition let radical to log connected and update their accusation there. That has the imaginable to importantly trim the contented of returned mail.

And the caller strategy volition besides person "some functionality successful presumption of assignment scheduling."

Some programs — specified arsenic aesculapian imaging — presently person automated reminder systems successful place. 

But generally, assignment notices proceed to spell retired by mail.

NLHS sends 2.5 cardinal pieces of message per year. Officials could not instantly supply a breakdown connected however overmuch of that would beryllium assignment notices.