Up to 240 families could be forced to travel to England annually for child post-mortems, the assembly has heard.
The absence of a paediatric pathology consultant in the north was highlighted by Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Colm Gildernew who said he intended to raise the matter with Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.
Post-mortem examinations on infants were transferred to England due to a lack of specialist staff in early 2019 as an “interim measure”.
Previously they were provided on a regional basis by the Belfast trust.
The north’s last paediatric pathology consultant retired in February 2019.
“Effectively there is no paediatric pathology consultant service here for post-mortems on babies lost to miscarriage or stillbirth or in the immediate days after birth,” Mr Gildernew said.
“[In February 2019] it was stated that, as an interim measure, families would be able to take their children to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
“While that has been something families have had to avail themselves of, there has been no move to address the situation on a broader basis here in the north.
“It is estimated that up to 240 families a year could be making that horrendous journey across the water with their child’s body.”
Mr Gildernew said he had met the children’s paediatric cardiology service in Dublin last year.
“It was explained to me that, in order to run a full paediatric pathology service, you need four consultants,” he added.
“That is to allow people time for training, to fill rotas, to allow for leave and to cover emergency care. To run a rota of that extent requires a population of six million people. That will tell us clearly what the problem is and where the solution lies.
“I raised the issue at the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association meeting, which some of my colleagues attended. To me, we must look at this as a matter of urgency now on an all-island basis,” said Mr Gildernew.
The MLA, who pointed out it was also Baby Loss Awareness Week which he described as “a heart-rending situation for many of our families”, recounted how one of his neighbours took the “very sad journey” last year.
He said: “When she travelled across, she dreaded the thought of whether she would even be allowed to bring her child’s body home with her: she did not even know that.
“At a time when families are at their lowest ebb, we are, essentially, forcing them on to planes if they want to find out what happened.
“I will raise the issue with the health minister. I raised it repeatedly with the previous minister and I will urge him and everyone here to consider how we can move the issue forward and prevent 1,200, perhaps, approaching 1,500, of our families having to make that unacceptable journey.”
In a response to The Irish News, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the prospect of a dedicated paediatric pathology service for the north was “very remote” as these services were “under considerable pressure across the UK and globally due to a shortage of paediatric pathologists”.
He added: “As paediatric pathology consultant services move to more centralised models nationally, my first priority is to ensure that we maintain access to high-quality, reliable and timely pathology services at Alder Hey.
“I am assured that we have been able to secure access by further extending these arrangements that have worked well since 2019.
“I also noted that I am keen to explore the feasibility of an all-island approach to these services.”
