Parents face 12-month wait to learn how babies died

Grieving families are waiting up to a year to find out how children have died due to a shortage of pathologists.

Among those who have faced a delay for post-mortem results are Shane Bevan and Laura Tongue, from Tipton, whose baby boy died in hospital in May 2023, just hours after he was born.

The couple said their six-month wait to find out Louie's cause of death had "felt like a lifetime" and had made it difficult for them to "move forward".

The Royal College of Pathologists warned the industry was in crisis with no paediatric pathologists currently employed in the West Midlands.

There are just two perinatal pathologists based at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust - they conduct autopsies on foetuses and babies for the whole region.

Ms Tongue, a 34-year-old teacher, said it was "cruel" for families already at "their lowest point in grief" to be left waiting for answers.

• If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, help is available via the BBC Action Line pages

Mr Bevan, 34, who works as a behavioural specialist at a local school, called for something to be done to make the process easier for bereaved couples.

He said losing a child is "the worst thing any parent can go through" but the wait had made it "10 times harder".

Louie was born via emergency C-section at Russells Hall Hospital at 29 weeks old after it was discovered Ms Tongue had reverse blood flow, a serious complication which can mean the baby is not getting enough oxygen from the placenta.

She was only able to stroke his face before he was taken to the neonatal unit.

Initially he responded well, but within an hour his condition had deteriorated and he required CPR.

Mr Bevan said he was asked to go into the room and was left watching "a horrible scene unfold" without any explanation as to what was happening.

Ms Tongue was wheeled in and they were told by the neonatologist after 40 minutes of resuscitation that they needed to stop.

She was never able to hold Louie before he died, something that still makes her "really angry".

The couple, who have two other children, said they had to fight for a post-mortem examination and then had to chase the hospital for the results.

But after a long wait for answers in November 2023 the report came back inconclusive and the couple said they "still haven't got that closure" they had hoped for.

In January 2024 a serious incident report found there had been 12 failings in their care, findings which the couple said "destroyed" them.

Diane Wake, Chief Executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are deeply sorry for the unimaginable loss that Louie's parents have gone through."

She added that the trust had listened to the family's concerns and had since implemented changes in practice.

For more than two decades the Royal College of Pathologists has raised concerns with the government about the shortage of paediatric and perinatal pathologists.

A report published by the organisation this month found 37% of posts in the UK are lying vacant.

"There are simply not enough consultants to undertake this work and families are suffering," said Dr Clair Evans, the chair of its advisory committee.

The UK has just 52 paediatric and perinatal pathologists and 13 are due to retire in the next five years, according to the Royal College of Pathologists.

Ryan and Amy Jackson founded the Lily Mae Foundation in memory of their daughter who was stillborn at 37 weeks in 2010.

"When we lost Lily we were told it would be a maximum of 12 weeks [for a cause of death] and what we've seen over the years, since then, is it's got longer and longer," said Mrs Jackson.

Her husband added: "When you're in the grief process it's like your world completely slows down, so for us the 12 weeks felt like 12 years."

The baby loss support charity, based in Balsall Common, near Solihull, provides one-to-one bereavement support to families and gives out memory boxes.

They said the delays were a postcode lottery, with some families waiting four to six months and others waiting nine to 12 months.

Mrs Jackson said for those families that did have to wait longer "it's changing that grief journey massively, it's adding a ton of emotions on, and it's extending the time-frame for trying again for another pregnancy".

Among those facing a 12-month wait for post-mortem results are relatives of a baby boy who died at his home in Bartley Green, Birmingham, in June.

Named locally as Kai, he was found in a critical condition at the property on Culford Drive, and died shortly after arriving in hospital.

A woman, 37, who was arrested on suspicion of child neglect remains on police bail.

Neighbours have told us the house in the cul-de-sac now lies empty, a reminder of the tragic loss.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out, but the results are not anticipated for up to 12 months, a coroner for Birmingham and Solihull has told the BBC.

An NHS spokesperson said: "It is unacceptable for any bereaved families to experience significant delays in getting the answers they need following the death of their child, and so we have launched a national programme to strengthen specialised pathology services, which are facing sustained workforce challenges.

"These measures include sharing staff and resources between providers and the use of less invasive options such as genomic testing where appropriate, and the NHS is continuing to work with clinical leaders and an advisory group of bereaved parents to help make improvements to these services for families."