Families face 12-month wait to discover how their babies died

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

Among those who faced a delay in post-mortem results were Shane Bevan and Laura Tongue, from Tipton, whose baby boy died in hospital in May 2023, just hours after his birth.

The couple said their six-month wait to learn Louie’s cause of death had “felt like a lifetime” and made it difficult for them to “move forward”.

The Royal College of Pathologists has warned that the industry is in crisis and that no pediatric pathologists are currently employed in the West Midlands.

There are just two perinatal pathologists based at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – they carry out autopsies on fetuses and babies for the whole region.

Ms Tongue, a 34-year-old teacher, said it was “cruel” for families already “at the lowest point of their grief” to have to wait for answers.

Mr Bevan, 34, who works as a behavior 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 a parent can go through”, but that waiting has made it “10 times harder”.

Louie was born by emergency caesarean section at Russells Hall Hospital at the age of 29 weeks 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 could only stroke his face before he was taken to the neonatal unit.

At first he responded well, but within an hour his condition deteriorated and he required cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Mr Bevan said he was asked to enter the room and left to watch “a horrific scene unfold” without any explanation of what was happening.

Ms Tongue was brought on board and the neonatologist told them, after 40 minutes of resuscitation, that they needed to stop.

She was never able to hold Louie before he died, which still makes her “really angry.”

The couple, who have two other children, said they had to fight for an autopsy and then go to the hospital to get the results.

But after a long wait for answers in November 2023, the report proved inconclusive and the couple said they “still haven’t gotten the 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 Louie’s parents have suffered.”

She added that the trust had listened to the family’s concerns and had since implemented changes to its practices.

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

A report published by the organization this month reveals that 37% of roles in the UK are vacant.

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

The UK has just 52 pediatric and perinatal pathologists and 13 are expected 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 that it lasts longer and longer,” Ms. Jackson said.

Her husband added: “When you’re in a grieving 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-on-one bereavement support to families and distributes memory boxes.

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

Ms. Jackson said that for families who have had to wait longer, “it dramatically changes the grief journey, it adds a ton of emotion and it extends the time it takes to try for another pregnancy.”

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

Locally named Kai, he was found in a critical condition at the Culford Drive property and died shortly after arriving at hospital.

A 37-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of child neglect, remains on bail.

Neighbors told us the house on the cul-de-sac is now empty, a reminder of the tragic loss.

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

An NHS spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that bereaved families are experiencing significant delays in getting the answers they need after the death of their child, which is why we have launched a national program to strengthen specialist pathology services, which face sustained workforce challenges.

“These measures include sharing staff and resources between providers and using less invasive options such as genomic testing where appropriate, and the NHS continues to work with clinical leaders and a bereaved parent advisory group to help improve these services for families.”