Children's bodies 'moved illegally'

A critical shortage of paediatric experts to carry out post-mortem examinations means bodies are being sent miles away from families, they said.

Dr Chris Wright, chairman of the prenatal, perinatal and paediatric pathology specialty advisory committee at the Royal College of Pathologists, said pressure had increased following recommendations that child specialists should deal with unexpected infant deaths.

This followed the case of solicitor Sally Clark, who was cleared by the Court of Appeal of murdering her two children.

Dr Wright said: "There aren't enough people to do the job and there are particular problems in the South West. Babies who require post-mortems will be going to other parts of the country which is inadequate and, from the point of view of the family, completely unsatisfactory."

Dr Wright, a Newcastle consultant perinatal pathologist, said there were currently only about 40 paediatric pathologists - not enough to cope with the workload. That figure also showed no signs of increasing, he added.

Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore said he was forced to break the law.

He told BMA News: "The lack of paediatric pathology in the South West is a real problem, and I currently send (infants' bodies) to Birmingham for post-mortems. In doing this I act unlawfully, because the Coroners Act 1988 only allows the removal of a body to an adjoining district.

"The Ministry of Justice is fully aware of this problem, and we all turn a blind eye to it to get the job done for the benefit of the bereaved."

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: "We are sympathetic to the need to reform current coroners' rules. Indeed, the draft Coroners Bill sets out plans for the relaxation of boundary restrictions of this type, so coroners can get the scientific expertise required, regardless of where a pathologist or other specialist is located."