Coronavirus: Thousands of shielding letters go to wrong address

‘This is a potentially disastrous mistake which could needlessly endanger lives,’ says Plaid Cymru

Thousands of shielding letters meant for vulnerable people were sent to the wrong addresses (Getty Images)

The Welsh government has apologised for incorrectly sending thousands of letters warning vulnerable people to stay at home while the coronavirus crisis is ongoing to the wrong addresses.

As many as 13,000 letters were sent to the wrong addresses in Wales in a “processing error”, in what Plaid Cymru has called a “potentially disastrous mistake”.

According to the BBC, more than 80,000 people with serious underlying health conditions or the elderly were meant to receive a “shielding letter” by 3 April from the chief medical officer advising them to stay at home for 12 weeks.

The letter also offers essential information and advice on how to get medication and food if the recipient does not have anyone else to rely on for help. With the letters, recipients would also qualify for priority delivery slots from supermarkets.

Delyth Jewell AM, Plaid Cymru’s shadow minister for local government, said in a statement: “This is a potentially disastrous mistake which could needlessly endanger lives.

“The mistake needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency by the Labour Welsh Government, who need to tell us exactly what went wrong for this to happen in the first place.”

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Government said: “Due to a processing error within the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), some shielding letters were posted to a previous address, where the intended recipient had recently moved.

“All letters have since been reissued to the correct addresses. We provided all local authorities with the correct details from the start of this process and they have been directly contacting each person involved over the past two weeks.

“We fully understand the concern this would have caused people and sincerely apologise for the mistake,” she added.

Some people who found out their shielding letter had gone to the wrong address have complained on Twitter.

One woman said: “Disappointed my shielding letter has gone to a previous address and am now UNABLE to get priority home delivery for food/essentials. Having an autoimmune disease and having had regular chemotherapy I am home and terrified.”

Even some of those who have received their shielding letters have not been able to get priority delivery slots, social media posts suggest.

There are almost 6,000 confirmed positive coronavirus cases in Wales, with more than 400 deaths.