Debate contribution: Paediatric Pathology Services

Debate contribution by Mrs Diane Dodds on 13 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Diane Dodds

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

13 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Paediatric Pathology Services

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5316305

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for highlighting the issues. There is nothing worse than to hear of the death of a child, then to be put in the position of needing to have a post-mortem carried out on that child and then for that post-mortem to have to be carried out in Liverpool at Alder Hey Hospital. The separation, anxiety and trauma are almost unbearable. The current service for families in Northern Ireland has been provided, as has been said, through Alder Hey Children's Hospital since January 2019. If there is a positive in the middle of this really difficult situation, it is that it seems to be a relatively efficient service where parents receive results more quickly than before. It is important that parents receive those results, not just to know what happened to their child but, particularly for young parents who may be planning to have other children, to diagnose the conditions that may have been present. We have a suboptimal situation that we should not tolerate in Northern Ireland, and it is traumatic for parents. In this difficult situation, as Mr McGuigan said, it is important that we explore any alternatives or even digital solutions that we can — whether we need to have a specific autopsy; whether we can do some investigations through X-rays, ultrasounds or CT scans; and whether we actually need to take children to Alder Hey. I am absolutely no expert, but experts tell me that, increasingly, we should be able to do some of the work remotely. That would aid in the issue of separation and would speed up the release of the child to the family. I am interested in the Republic of Ireland's ability to aid us in bringing forward a solution to the problem. We should explore all solutions. We should not play politics or play around with this. It is so important and so difficult. I note that, in August, the 'Sunday Independent' reported that grieving families in the Republic were experiencing significant delays in arranging for loved ones to be buried because of a nationwide shortage of pathologists. For example, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said that there was a crisis in pathology services in the South. Some Dublin hospitals have pulled out of the service. It is important that we evaluate that. Minister, I will be interested in any ongoing discussions that you have with your counterparts in the Republic to determine whether there is even capacity for the South to take on some of the work or, as with children's heart surgery, to have a joint service.

That is important.

It is not just in the Republic of Ireland that the service is in crisis. In the United Kingdom, 37% of paediatric pathology consultant posts are vacant. That is a huge gap in the workforce. There are only 13 resident doctors currently in training posts. That crisis will be exacerbated by the fact that 25% —

— of the consultant workforce is expected to retire —

— within five years. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

508 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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