SDLP Health Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has written to Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health seeking urgent answers on the planned removal of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology services from the North of Ireland which he says will increase the suffering and stress of bereaved families.
Post-mortem examinations on infants in the North of Ireland will have to be carried out in a hospital in England due to a lack of specialist staff, it was revealed today.
The paediatric pathologist service is currently provided on a regional basis by the Belfast Trust.
However, the single remaining consultant will leave his post in February 2019.
Three paediatric pathologists will have either retired or resigned since 2016.
From January, the service will be performed at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool.
Said the Foyle MLA: “This situation cannot be described as unforeseen as pressures on this service have been highlighted before and there are serious questions to be answered as to how the Department and Board have allowed things to get to this point.
“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.
“I am seeking urgent clarification not only on how this completely unacceptable situation has arisen but also on what solutions have been explored.
“If this service is lost now, will it ever be restored? Is there the possibility of an all-island solution?”
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