Latest news with #Josh Babarinde
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Eastbourne woman 'nearly missed cancer check due to late letter'
A woman from Eastbourne said she nearly missed an urgent cancer referral as the letter was delayed in the Wynn-Jones said: "I was told I would hear within 10 I didn't. Fortunately my sister was a community matron and I asked her, 'what do I do?'.Her sister told her to call the consultant's secretary and she discovered her appointment was scheduled for the next day. The letter arrived several days living in various parts of East Sussex have complained of significant delays with post being delivered, an issue acknowledged by Royal Mail and attributed to staff shortages and sickness. Ms Wynn-Jones said it would have been "reassuring" to receive the letter before the appointment as "it detailed why I'd been referred, what they were looking for, what I needed to do now, how to prepare - well, I didn't have any of that". 'Wider organisational issues' Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde, who has raised the issue of late postal deliveries in the House of Commons, said residents were being "let down" by the "bigger bosses at Royal Mail who have failed to sort out their organisation".Having visited local delivery depots, the MP said staff were "pulling out all the stops to get our post to us" but were being held back by "wider organisational issues".Alongside writing to regulator Ofcom, Mr Babarinde said he had secured a meeting with Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake to discuss the Mail has apologised for the ongoing issues and admits that its service isn't "where it needs to be" in certain areas. It said that 92% of first-class letters were delivered within two days, and that 99% of first-class letters were delivered within five changes mean that, since 28 July, second-class letters are only being delivered on every other weekday and not on Saturdays.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Direct East Sussex-London train to be reinstated
A rail link between two East Sussex towns and London discontinued during the pandemic is being brought back, a train company has announced. Govia Thameslink Railway said from December a direct train will run in the morning between Eastbourne, Lewes and London Bridge and return in the evening, after calls by service, which will run Monday to Thursday, is set to make commuting to the capital "much easier", the rail operator said. Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde - making the announcement alongside Thamelink - said he had campaigned for direct train service to be restored following its withdrawal in 2020. The Liberal Democrat, who took a giant ticket-shaped petition to Eastbourne station while campaigning, said the change would have a "positive impact" on the town."This is a huge victory," he added. Thameslink said the Covid pandemic had had a "devastating impact" on the rail industry. Jenny Saunders, Thameslink customer services director, said the company was doing everything it could do to encourage people back to using rail services, which it called the "most sustainable form of public transport". The new Monday to Thursday service will depart from Eastbourne at 06:48, arriving at London Bridge for 08:25. The return service will leave London Bridge at 17:03 and reach Eastbourne at 18:34.
