Funeral delays feared as Waterford hospital to end coroner-requested autopsies

Consultant pathologists at University Hospital Waterford will stop performing coroner-requested autopsies from January, raising fears of funeral delays and service gaps

Coroner-requested autopsies are conducted after deaths which may be suspicious, accidental, or unexpected, as well as maternal deaths. Picture: iStock 

Up to 700 coroner-requested autopsies conducted each year in Waterford are under threat from January, with lengthy delays expected in returning bodies to families for funerals.

Consultant pathologists at University Hospital Waterford will withdraw from conducting coroner-requested autopsies at the morgue in the hospital from January 1.