Waterford hospital to use UK pathologists for coroner-directed autopsies in the new year

Coroner-directed post-mortem examinations include deaths which may be suspicious, accidental, or unexpected, as well as maternal deaths

University Hospital Waterford's current service covers Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Carlow. File photo

Pathologists from the UK are expected to carry out services for coroner-directed post-mortem examinations at University Hospital Waterford from next month.

The Irish Examiner revealed in October that consultant pathologists at the hospital will withdraw from conducting coroner-requested autopsies at the morgue in the hospital from January 1. The move was feared to result in lengthy funeral delays, with up to 700 coroner-directed post-mortem examinations held yearly at the hospital.

Such cases include deaths which may be suspicious, accidental, or unexpected, as well as maternal deaths. The current service covers Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Carlow.

While a permanent solution to the issue has not yet been found, the Department of Justice said its officials are engaging with a number of firms who are proposing to supply locums to provide the autopsy service at the hospital’s morgue.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said in response to a question from Fine Gael TD Michael Murphy: “The local pathologist services with which the department is engaging will be contracted to provide a service from pathologists not already providing services in Ireland. In practice, this will be from the UK."

A spokesman for the Department of Justice told the Irish Examiner the locum approach being currently planned “is an unfortunate necessity to minimise any impact on bereaved family members who are engaging with the Coroner Service”.

“However, a long-term sustainable solution is nevertheless required, whereby locum pathologists are not relied upon to provide the autopsy service, and instead this service to the community is provided from within the pathology profession in Ireland generally.” 

In a letter sent to Mr Murphy in recent months, University Hospital Waterford chief executive Ben O’Sullivan said the hospital told the Department of Justice in November 2024 that the consultant pathologists at the hospital “would not be in a position to provide coroner-requested post-mortems from January 2026”.

He said the hospital is “currently significantly understaffed” in terms of consultant pathologists and that a recent workforce planning exercise indicated that the coroner’s post-mortem workload in University Hospital Waterford requires four whole-time equivalent pathologists specifically for the service.

Mr O’Callaghan told Mr Murphy that there are currently nine sanctioned consultant pathology posts at the hospital, eight of which are currently filled. The ninth is to be recruited next year, he said. Six of the current eight had been undertaking the coroner-directed post-mortem examinations, with “three taking on the bulk of the workload”.

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Mr Murphy said there must be urgency in providing a permanent solution to the issue at the Waterford morgue, to ensure that families are not hit with extra stress and concern at the time of the death of a loved one.

“This is not an abstract policy issue; this is a human one. There are 700 cases every year. Every day that a family waits for a post-mortem is a day they cannot hold a funeral, cannot begin the grieving process and cannot find closure.” 

The Department of Justice spokesman said there are currently issues within the pathology profession generally, “including relating to training and recruitment, as well as competing demands on pathologists in areas of diagnostic and research work”.