Efforts to recruit a replacement paediatric pathologist for Northern Ireland have proved unsuccessful, resulting in the service now moving to England.

National and international recruitment drives have repeatedly been carried out in attempts to fill the position, but to no avail, leaving the transfer of services as the only option in the meantime.

As of Thursday 03 January, bereaved parents from the region will be forced to travel to Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool for the service, an understandable inconvenience in an already chaotic and stressful time in their life.

The initial announcement of the relocation of services was met with much opposition from political representatives across Northern Ireland, with many calling for a replacement to be found urgently.

SDLP spokesperson for health, Mark Durkan said at the time: "There is nothing in life as painful as the loss of a child and the loss of this service here means that deceased children and babies will need to be transported to England if parents or the coroner need answers on the cause of death.

"Post-mortems provide vital information, particularly for families with other children whose health could potentially be at risk to an underlying genetic condition. This knowledge is also invaluable to healthcare professionals.

"The proposal that families will need to send their beloved child away for a week to get these answers will mean more stress and suffering for families in their darkest hour. It may well lead to parents opting out of the process altogether."

The Health and Social Care Board and Public Health Agency have acknowledged that the arrangement is far from ideal and that it could compound the distress for grieving families.

In a statement on Thursday, it said "an open-ended recruitment process with an agency specialising in international recruitment is ongoing.

"In the meantime, we are working closely with families, staff, charities and other partners to take every possible step to ensure that any baby or child who requires a post-mortem is treated with the utmost respect, dignity and sensitivity throughout their journey now, and in the future, and that families will have our full support when facing these very traumatic circumstances."

The board also said that it would continue to investigate the possibility of a cross-border solution.

It is hoped that the partnership with Alder Hey will enhance the service for Northern Ireland, speeding up post-mortem reports to within 56 days.

The process currently take up to six months in Northern Ireland.



(JG/CM)