Sending stillborn baby from NI to Liverpool âwill haunt mum foreverâ
A woman whose baby was sent to England from Northern Ireland for a post-mortem examination has said it is âunnaturalâ and will âhauntâ her forever.
There is currently no specialist paediatric pathologist in Northern Ireland.
The body of Victoria and Kyle Buckleyâs baby Ollie was one of 1,105 infants and children sent to the paediatric pathology service at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool from Northern Ireland since 2019, BBC News NI can reveal.
Ollie died at 37 weeks and was delivered at Antrim Area Hospital in May 2024.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Victoria said her son was the third baby âborn sleeping that weekâ in the unit, and because of what was described by a midwife as a âbacklogâ, it was several days before his body was taken by undertakers to Alder Hey.
The Northern Trust apologised for any hurt caused âby poor choice of language in these exceptionally difficult circumstancesâ.
They added that âsadly in this particular set of circumstances, there was more than one family who had experienced the loss of their baby and who needed our support.
âWe will continue to keep the need for the bereavement suite under review to inform any future service planning.â
In 2019, an âinterimâ service was set up by the Department of Health for the post-mortem examinations to take place in Liverpool after a local paediatric pathologist could not be appointed.
A post-mortem examination can be carried out in the case of a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death of a baby or a child.
BBC News NI has also learned that these interim arrangements with Alder Hey Childrenâs Hospital have been extended until March 2027.
According to Victoria Buckley, it is âhorrendousâ and âheartbreakingâ having to say âgoodbyeâ twice to your baby, including the first time when the midwives tell you there is no heartbeat and later when the undertakers arrive to take the body to Liverpool.
The Department of Health said that while the health minister continues to make access to Alder Hey his priority, he is âcommitted to finding a better resolution to the issueâ.
Victoria said a hospital porter arrived at the bereavement suite and left a bag with a white metal box inside, where they were asked to place Ollie.
âIt will haunt me forever,â she said.
âJust this innocent little baby lying there. I had put him into a cold metal box to go to Liverpool, and I wasnât sure when I was going to see him again.
âThere is no timeline; you have to agree to that, and you just donât know when youâre getting your baby back.â
Travel arrangements
The Belfast Trust makes arrangements for the post-mortem examinations on behalf of all NI health trusts, including travel to Alder Hey.
It told BBC News NI that it supports those parents or family members who wish to travel with their baby or child to Liverpool.
The trust said this was rarely taken up, and fewer than five families have travelled since the arrangement with Alder Hey was initiated in January 2019.
However, Victoria and Kyle and other parents have told the BBC that they were not given the option of travelling with their deceased baby.
Grieving process
Laura and Andrew Magee found their daughter Poppy did not have a heartbeat at their 20-week hospital scan in August 2020.
âWe went hoping to be told the gender but instead were told our baby had no heartbeat â it was devastating,â said Laura.
The couple said they were asked to make several decisions that day, including whether they wanted a post-mortem examination, and if they agreed to the body being sent to Liverpool.
Laura said expecting a couple to agree to this was âcruel and heart-wrenchingâ.
âIt made the grieving process longer and made my recovery longer,â said Laura.
âI did suffer with depression and anxiety, and I had nightmares about her body, what they would do with her â it just added to everything.â
Victoria and Laura belong to a WhatsApp group called StrongMumsNI, which has 67 members.
They want to know why the bodies of deceased babies continue to be sent by boat to Liverpool and question why an all-island service isnât feasible.
Both Victoria and Laura said they had no faith in the health service and described it as âbrokenâ.
They also said they were not provided with regular updates about the whereabouts of their babies, or even if they had been returned to Northern Ireland.
Victoria said she was not initially told how Ollie would be travelling to Liverpool, and for a while she feared he might be âthrown in with all the other luggageâ on the plane.
Later she learned he had been taken by boat and that undertakers had accompanied him.
âThat was one of the worst bits for me, because you donât know where he is,â said Victoria.
âIt is the most unnatural thing. You have just given birth, and you donât know where your baby is.â
An all-island approach
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said its minister Mike Nesbitt âbelieves the grief and trauma experienced by families locally is being exacerbated by the requirement for them to travel to England for post-mortem examinations, often leaving behind critical support networks at an extremely difficult timeâ.
The department said that âa number of conversations had taken placeâ on the feasibility of an all-Ireland service âbut progress remained at the very early stages of development and considerationâ.
The Department of Health in the Republic of Ireland said that while delays to postmortem examinations are ânot an issueâ, the service is dependent on a âvery small number of staffâ, and there are âchallenges recruiting into consultant postsâ.
The department said that specialist postmortem examinations are not always required, but where they are, this is mostly carried out in Dublin with some regional services in Cork and Galway.
âA worldwide shortageâ of pathologists
BBC News NI first reported there was a workforce problem in 2018 when the remaining consultant left.
A spokesperson for the Royal College of Pathologists said there is a worldwide shortage of pathologists and in particular, paediatric pathologists.
Prof Marta Cohen told BBC News NI that, in her opinion, an all-Ireland service is not a solution.
âI believe this is the case â Ireland cannot help because of its own shortage issues,â she said.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this story, contact BBC Action Line, where these organisations may be able to help.