Aontú launches All-Ireland ‘Compassionate Care’ strategy for paediatric pathology and bereavement services

Aontú Deputy Leader Gemma Brolly has launched the party's All-Ireland ‘Compassionate Care’ strategy for paediatric pathology and bereavement services to end the practice of babies and young children being sent to Liverpool from the North to receive post-mortems.

Since 2019, following the death of a baby or child in the North, families have had to endure their loved ones being sent across the Irish Sea to Liverpool for a post-mortem when services exist on the other side of the border that could provide the same service and save families from that added trauma.

Speaking about the strategy, Mrs Brolly said: "Prior to 2019, paediatric pathology services were provided by the Belfast Trust for the region.  Since the retirement of their pathologist, and despite numerous recruitment initiatives, no service has been available in the North – parents have had to see their loved ones sent to Alder Hey in Liverpool.

"Almost 1,000 children have had to make that journey, with patchy information given to parents as to their right to travel with them during one of the 746 journeys that have taken place," she added.

"It can take up to three days for remains to travel to Liverpool, undertake the examination and return home, with up to 56 days for a report to be produced for the family.  Aontú believe this is an unacceptable situation, and is proposing an All-Ireland paediatric pathology and bereavement service.

"It is clear from our research that bereavement care is an essential piece of this puzzle.  Across the North, many women and families are offered little to no care by the HSC following their loss.  Many Trusts simply offer leaflets and signposting to overstretched and underfunded charities to provide care if and when they can.

"In the South, however, not only are bereavement services integrated, they are planned, funded and benchmarked for best practice.  Many of the facilities across that jurisdiction offer bereavement suites that provide privacy, access to services and time for families to grieve.  The women and families in Derry and Belfast deserve no less.

"As part of the 2025 National Service Plan, the HSE has committed to progressing work on a collaborative approach to design perinatal and paediatric pathology services capable of serving both jurisdictions. This was agreed between both Health Ministers in September 2024 following engagement through the North-South Ministerial Council," said Mrs Brolly.

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She added: "We have been engaging with officials and raising the issue with the Health Minister in Dublin to try and shape this initiative.  We want to ensure that a robust, cross-border service that offers a uniform experience to every woman and her family in these terrible circumstances, regardless of where it is on the island they are from.

"We want to see:

• A cross-border framework for sharing information on perinatal mortality, its causes and, where relevant, case data.
• An All-Ireland National Standard for Perinatal Bereavement Care to be developed by both Departments of Health.
• The development of a network of Bereavement Suites across the HSC in the North, to match the service in the South, and the delivery of benchmarked care across the island.
• The appointment of ‘Bereavement Champions’ in each relevant healthcare facility in the North, with Bereavement Midwives given access to training and resources such as TEARDROP for other maternity staff on their site.

"We are determined that during these difficult times, the health service will rise to meet the needs of those grieving and their loved ones.  To that end, we are launching our comprehensive strategy today, and we will continue to work with partners such as the White Butterfly Foundation and those across the health service to deliver a service first for the people, not just of Dublin, but of Craigavon, Enniskillen and Cookstown.”