by Q Radio News
Post Mortem examinations on infants will no longer be carried out in Northern Ireland from early 2019.
The Health and Social Care Board announced today, due to a lack of specialist staff, bodies will be sent to Liverpool on an interim basis.
The service in Northern Ireland is currently provided on a regional basis by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the work is undertaken by a consultant paediatric pathologist.
This service includes hospital post-mortem examinations, the great majority of which are carried out on babies who are stillborn, as well as late miscarriages and babies who survive only a short time after birth.
It also includes, much more rarely, hospital post-mortem examinations of older babies and children.
The current paediatric pathologist in Northern Ireland is leaving his post early next year and despite significant recruitment efforts, the board has been unable to find a replacement.
It's now been able to make alternative arrangements by securing services from Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool.
Heather Reid, Public Health Specialist, speaking on behalf of the Health and Social Care Board and Public Health Agency, says they recognise the new set up may add distress to families who have lost baby.
However, they're working to re-establish the service in Northern Ireland on a long term basis:
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