Irish Examiner view: Grieving families should not face further trauma due to autopsy delays

A halt to coroner-requested autopsies at University Hospital Waterford could delay families from burying their loved ones

Consultant pathologists at University Hospital Waterford will withdraw from conducting coroner-requested autopsies from January. Picture: iStock 

The Irish approach to funerals and wakes is admired by many people outside this country, but such ceremony does not make the loss of a loved one any easier. It is always one of the most stressful times in a person’s life, no matter the circumstances of the deceased’s passing.

That makes the news coming out of Waterford this week all the more shocking. 

As reported here by Ann Murphy, consultant pathologists at University Hospital Waterford will withdraw from conducting coroner-requested autopsies at the morgue in the hospital from January 1, and it is not known who will supply the service thereafter.

This news has not come out of the blue, with the hospital signalling significant staffing challenges in recent months, and those have resulted in some delays in carrying out autopsies.

There are real-world consequences for local people, with Tipperary South Fine Gael TD Michael Murphy stating he was aware of a situation where the family of a young child had to wait for five days for the body to be released because of an autopsy delay.

Ben O’Sullivan, the hospital’s chief executive, has detailed an array of problems involved here, ranging from a global shortage in “appropriately qualified pathologists willing to provide autopsy services” to “diverse and complex” issues in Waterford, including the fact that HSE pathologists with other commitments are struggling to combine those commitments with carrying out coroner-requested autopsies.

These are viable points.

However, they should be considered in the context of the horrifying scenario faced by the family mentioned above.

With all the trauma that might be expected from dealing with the death of a child, being forced to wait almost a full week for the remains to be released for burial makes for a nightmare that is difficult to imagine.

People dealing with the stress and heartbreak of death should not be subjected to delays because of administrative delays or staffing challenges.

Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew

The revelations from the late Virginia Giuffre’s memoir continue to cause havoc in the British royal family, proving specifically ruinous for the disgraced Prince Andrew.

Former British prince Andrew photographed with the late Virginia Giuffre and convicted child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Giuffre died by suicide last April at the age of 41, and her posthumously-published memoir, Nobody’s Girl, details her sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, who was himself found dead in a New York prison cell in 2019.

In the book, she also describes being forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions. He denied the allegations, though he settled her sexual abuse civil claim against him out of court with a multi million-euro payment.

As might be expected, these latest revelations have led to sharp criticism of the disgraced royal in the UK, with MPs lodging a House of Commons motion to strip him of his official title as a duke, in a rare parliamentary manoeuvre. The UK government also faces pressure over the prince’s residence — a 30-room royal lodge in Windsor — where he has not paid rent for more than two decades.

For Irish readers, there’s something faintly ridiculous about this Ruritanian fussing about titles and residences, though even committed royalists would surely wrinkle their noses at someone avoiding 20 years of rent.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre's posthumous autobiography 'Nobody's Girl', was published on Tuesday. Picture: James Manning/PA

However, there are malign corners to this story everywhere one looks: Only this week, the Metropolitan Police in London was investigating claims that Prince Andrew had asked his taxpayer-funded close protection officer to uncover information about Virginia Giuffre when this controversy first broke in 2011.

In that sense, the constituent elements of this narrative — the rapaciousness of the wealthy, the abuse of the powerless, and the slow wheel of justice — make it a universal story. And all the more depressing because of that. 

 

Presidential election

What feels like the longest political campaign in Irish history is drawing to a close this week, with voting in the presidential election this Friday.

Voters are faced with a choice of either Heather Humphreys or Catherine Connolly, and we should know the occupant of Áras an Uachtaráin this weekend. 

Presidential candidates Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys greeting each other ahead of the final televised debate on RTÉ's 'Prime Time' on Tuesday evening. Picture: Naoise Culhane

That person should perhaps pay attention to the activities of other presidents — past and present — this week.

In the US, Donald Trump is knocking down part of the White House. On Monday, workers demolished a covered entryway and several windows in the east wing of the presidential residencein Washington DC.

Mr Trump had previously said that the ballroom — with an estimated cost of $250m (€215m) — would be “near” the existing structure but would not change it, an assertion somewhat contradicted by the work currently being carried out. The lack of detail about the proposed ballroom has attracted criticism from historians and others.

At least Mr Trump is not facing jail time, like one former French president.  

Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential election campaign.

Yesterday morning, hundreds of supporters chanted “Nicolas, Nicolas”, and sang the French national anthem as he left his home — accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni — and got into a car to go to jail.

Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 to 2012, and despite protesting his innocence, he now faces another five-year term — but in La Sante prison in Paris, not the Élysée Palace.

Potential presidents beware.