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Pathologist Shortage: Bereaved Families Wait Months
29 May
Summary
- Qualified pathologists are scarce, causing long waits for results.
- A fifth of families wait six months or more for child death reports.
- One family waited seven months for their toddler's post-mortem.
The UK is experiencing a severe crisis in paediatric pathology, with waiting times for child post-mortem examinations reaching a 20-year high. Dr. Marta Cohen, a retired paediatric pathologist, has come out of retirement to address the critical shortage of qualified professionals. This scarcity means that a significant portion of bereaved families, approximately one-fifth, are now waiting six months or more to understand how their child died.
The impact of these delays is profound. For parents like Nathan and Fiona Robinson, the wait for their two-year-old son Alfie's post-mortem examination stretched to seven months following his sudden death. This prolonged period of uncertainty and grief underscores the urgent need for increased resources and personnel within the field of paediatric pathology to support families during their most difficult times.
