THE HSE confirmed that bereaved families will not be forced to delay funerals due to a lack of post-mortem services over Christmas.
Concerns were raised by Limerick Labour TD Conor Sheehan last week, who said he was informed that, due to a chronic shortage of pathologists, no autopsy facilities would be available between December 23 and 29 in Limerick as pathologists are not obliged to perform post-mortems.
“Any person who dies in that period where an autopsy is required will not be able to be buried until the autopsy is complete,” Deputy Sheehan claimed in a Dáil question on the matter.
“This will cause unnecessary additional grief for families and could delay a funeral by up to 10 or 12 days.”
In answer to a query from the Limerick Post, a spokesman for HSE Mid West said it informed funeral directors that a limited post-mortem service would be in place at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) between December 23 and December 30.
“The mortuary is closed on Christmas Day, and is open from 9am to 12 noon from December 26 to December 31. This is in line with hours of operation for weekends and public holidays.
“The mortuary at UHL typically conducts fewer than 10 post-mortems per week. We work with colleagues in other hospitals to redeploy to UHL in the event of any significant increase in demand for post-mortem services locally.”
Speaking in the Dáil, Taoiseach Michael Martin acknowledged a challenge “all over Europe” on the matter, explaining the Minister for Justice is “doing everything possible to deal with the situation”.