Queries over Poste’s elderly welfare checks

‘Veiller sur mes parents’ (Check on my parents) costs €39.90 to €139.90 a month for checking one to six times a week, involving the postman or women speaking to the elderly resident to ‘see if they’re alright’.

However a union official at the SUD-PTT said not everyone would be able to pay and they were monetising something most postal workers did anyway.

Some workers have also expressed concerns about their ability to know if “the person is alright”, as they are not medically trained. One postman said he was disciplined by his superior about this and told: “If he’s upright, then he’s alright”.

The service includes a telephone helpline for the elderly person (the call centre can call a relative or emergency services if necessary) and a service which helps find workers to do small jobs around the home.

La Poste’s personal services head Eric Bau­dril­lard says most postmen and women have had training and are “dedicated, enthusiastic and patient”.

One user told Le Monde she used it for her father, aged 94. She found it “reassuring” and preferred knowing it was their postwoman who was checking rather than another care worker.

The service could also help people who live far from elderly relatives, including outside France. An adviser said it is possible for a person in another country such as the UK to sign up and have their bank debited.