Pathologist shortage leaves bereaved families waiting months for autopsy results

The grief does not end at the mortuary door. For many bereaved families, the wait for a post-mortem report stretches for months, holding up inquests, funerals, insurance claims and any hope of understanding how a loved one died.

Official coroner statistics for England and Wales show the estimated average time taken to process an inquest remained 31.3 weeks in 2025, a delay that underscores how slowly death investigations already move before a final pathology report is completed. The Royal College of Pathologists says the pressure is worsening because demand for pathology services is rising faster than the supply of trained pathologists.

The college says poor remuneration for coronial post-mortems is a major part of the problem. It also says the work is rarely included in consultants’ job plans, leaving doctors to fit it around their normal NHS duties. In practice, that means a service dependent on specialist attention is often treated as something to squeeze into spare time.

The impact is especially severe in paediatric and perinatal pathology. In November 2024, the Government said specialised perinatal pathology services were delivered by 18 NHS hospital trusts in England, and that those services were facing significant staff shortages. In 2025, the Royal College of Pathologists warned that 37% of paediatric and perinatal pathology consultant posts in the UK were vacant. It said one in five bereaved families were waiting six months or more for post-mortem results, with some waits stretching beyond 12 months.

That backlog is being deepened by a workforce with little room to absorb more strain. The college said only 3% of paediatric and perinatal pathology consultants believed staffing levels were adequate for the long-term sustainability of the service, while 25% of the consultant workforce was expected to retire within five years.

Families are also running into a bureaucracy that is difficult to navigate. Bereaved relatives have reported coroner offices that are hard to reach, with some open only part time and relying on voicemail or email-only contact. Sands, the baby-loss charity, says families are left in limbo and that poor communication makes the pain worse.

The Royal College of Pathologists has urged urgent investment in pathology workforce, IT and estates, and says at least 150 of the NHS’s planned 1,000 new postgraduate training places over three years should be prioritised for pathology. It has also pressed for a National Coroners Service in England and Wales, arguing that a more consistent system is needed before delays become the norm rather than the exception.