UK Mail’s hybrid mail service wins another NHS contract
UK Mail Group has picked up another National Health Service mail contract for its hybrid mail service imail. The Birmingham-based company said its three-year contract with the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust will involve the mailing out of more than a million sensitive items each year.
If successful, the contract has the option of a two-year extension.
The imail system involves customers creating and sending letters and documents electronically, before they are then converted into physical mailpieces by UK Mail, ready for final delivery.
Launched in 2008, the service offers next-day delivery for mail sent before 3pm, or two-day delivery for mail sent before 6pm.
The latest deal comes a few months after imail scooped contracts with NHS agencies in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, as well as a trust in South Yorkshire.
As with the previous deal, the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells contract promises the public sector healthcare agency immediate savings on their postage.
UK Mail said it will also work with the NHS trust on encouraging greater digitisation of mail by healthcare professionals, freeing up administrative time by speeding up the mailing process.
“Value for money”
Andy Barber, general manager of imail, said the contract win was a “great achievement” for his company.
“This will enable us to widen our reach in the private sector and offer real value for money mailing solutions to the NHS.”
UK Mail completed a Connecting for Health (CFH) information governance assessment for its imail service back in March, which qualified it to handle sensitive mail for NHS trusts.
The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells contract will see the company printing and sending mail from a state of the art site at Maidstone Hospital.
Ian Ollerenshaw, the NHS Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells head of procurement said his trust carried out a “very competitive” bidding process before selecting UK Mail for the contract.
“As with all trusts, we face significant pressure to achieve cashable savings in the short term, and imail will provide us with savings from the first letter they securely print and mail for us,” he said.
