Debate contribution: Paediatric Pathology Services

Debate contribution by Mrs Sinéad Ennis on 13 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Sinéad Ennis

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

13 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Paediatric Pathology Services

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5316340

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank colleagues in the Chamber for their compassionate approach to the debate. Paediatric pathology is an essential component of our healthcare system. It is important for us to state and understand that, because it provides crucial insights into the causes of illness and death among children, gives grieving families answers and enables advancements in medical research. The lack of a dedicated paediatric pathology service in the North since 2019 represents a gap in our healthcare system that can no longer be ignored. Not only does the absence of a paediatric pathology service place an undue burden on families, healthcare professionals and the broader medical community but, as we have heard today, it means that cases must often be referred to other places, such as Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. That creates a delay in diagnosis and increases families' distress. Furthermore — this point is crucial — it denies us the opportunity to build local expertise and a comprehensive understanding of the unique health issues and challenges that children in the North face. The death of a child is an agonising experience for families. I acknowledge the families who have shared their experience with me. Despite going through the most unimaginable pain that any parent could endure, they have resolved to ensure that no other family should have their pain and trauma compounded owing to that gap in our healthcare system. I have sat with grieving parents in their living room as they recounted the trauma of being told that, in order to understand the cause of death of their child, they must go to Liverpool for a post-mortem. Sometimes, it is not possible for one parent or both to accompany their child on that journey to Liverpool. There is then the agonising wait for the result of the post-mortem and for their child to be returned home for burial. I would like colleagues across the Chamber to listen to and reflect on the words of two mothers from my constituency and for us to recommit to ensuring that no other family has to face such a situation. One mother told me:

"Leaving our daughter ... in the hospital, knowing she was going to be travelling to Liverpool without us for her post mortem was the most painful thing we've ever experienced. This is vital, grieving parents should not have this added layer of trauma."

Another mother from South Down told me that it was extremely disappointing that the situation has not been resolved since the loss of her son in 2020. She said that words can never express the pain of the added stress and trauma for her family in their darkest of times. As colleagues across the Chamber have said, repeated attempts to recruit a full-time paediatric pathologist in the North have proved unsuccessful. I reflect on Diane's comments on the issues that the population in the South is also experiencing, but a problem shared is a problem halved. I would like the health services North and South to plan a way through this together, because that would ease the burden on families who are already experiencing the most unimaginable trauma once their child has passed away. I know that the Minister gets that and that he wants to see the matter resolved, and I know that his predecessor was also committed to resolving the matter. I have much correspondence from him, dating back to 2020, outlining his attempts to resolve it with his counterpart in the South, so I know that there is the will to resolve this, and I acknowledge that. We now need to see action, and everyone in the House is calling for that. We need to see details and a plan for how we can sustain the service at home. Since the paediatric services ceased in the North in 2019, Sinn Féin, along with colleagues across the Chamber, has been calling for the all-island paediatric pathology option to be explored. We have seen the value of cross-border cooperation in healthcare through the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin and the all-island paediatric cardiology service, so there is no reason why we cannot see the same cooperation on paediatric pathology. The families whom I have spoken to call simply for a common-sense approach to the matter to ease the burden on families who are already experiencing significant trauma in grief. We need to do better for families who, unfortunately, need to access post-mortem services following the death of their child. That is the least that we can do for families at that time.

760 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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