State Laboratory struggles to cope with demand for postmortem test results 

State  Laboratory received almost 8,300 samples for analysis last year – up by 8% on the previous year, which was already up 10% on 2021. Picture: Getty Images

Turnaround times for test results at the State Laboratory have slowed down as demand for toxicology reports continues to soar.

The demand from test results as part of the postmortem process for coroners has been steadily increasing year on year.

The Laboratory received almost 8,300 samples for analysis last year – up by 8% on the previous year, which was already up 10% on 2021.

A statement from the Laboratory to the Irish Examiner said: “The State Laboratory is unable to respond quickly to the increased sample numbers as the work requires trained experts. 

"As a result of the increase in sample numbers, the State Laboratory increased the reporting time from 93 days to 110 days.” 

The statement explained that the normal timeframe for delivering results is based on a gradual increase in sample numbers of 2% to 3% per year, but the Laboratory has witnessed a much sharper spike in the past three years, coinciding with the arrival of the covid pandemic. 

The laboratory tests for the presence of drugs, alcohol, or gases such as carbon monoxide in deaths for the coroner service and for criminal investigations and inquests.

A spokeswoman for the laboratory told the Irish Examiner that it is now working with the Department of Justice and the Office of the State Pathologist to estimate a 5-year forecast for sample numbers “with the purpose of strengthening the State Laboratory’s resource planning to enable a return to 93 days for analysis and reporting”.

The issue was highlighted in a submission made to the Oireachtas Justice Committee by the president of the Coroners Society of Ireland, Frank O’Connell, contained in the recently-published committee’s examination of the inquest process in Ireland.

In the submission, Mr O’Connell said there is need for proper support in the provision of pathology services for coroners. 

The submission is contained in a report just published by the Oireachtas committee on the current operation of inquests in Ireland.

Mr O'Connell warned that the histology service “currently available is most precarious and its future uncertain”.

He said the State Laboratory is struggling to keep pace with the rise in the number of requests for analysis.

“Whilst a dedicated toxicology service is provided in the State Laboratory, it is struggling to keep pace with demand," he said. 

"Generally speaking, the Pathologist will wait for twelve or fourteen weeks for the results of a toxicology test report on blood or urine samples and this, in turn, gives rise to delays in reporting the results of the postmortem to the coroner and as a consequence, in the registration of a death or the setting of a date for the inquest.

"An acute issue is the need for a dedicated histological service for coroners’ post mortems at regional centres throughout the country.” 

In January, a report in the Irish Examiner highlighted a 20% rise in the number of death notices published on Rip.ie in an eight-week period from December 1, 2022. 

The death notices had risen to 9,718 from 8,075 in the same period a year earlier.

The spike in the number of deaths had disrupted funeral arrangements and put mortuaries under stress.

The death rate was so high that bodies had to be stored in the city’s hospitals until space became available at the Cork City Morgue.