A Riverina funeral director says he has seen no improvement in wait times for families whose loved ones need to be taken to Newcastle for full coronial autopsies.
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Scott Bance said some families were still being "left in limbo" by an up to two week turnaround for the autopsy process to be completed.
A coronial task force was established almost a year ago to investigate autopsy delays, which has resulted in two changes to the NSW Coroners Act to help "remove unnecessary red tape".
Riverina residents say they want to see Wagga Base Hospital equipped to handle at least those coronial autopsies that require external examinations only.
Mr Bance said it seemed "a bit ludicrous" that people were being "sent to mid-coast NSW for our postmortem examinations".
"The time delays aren't so much in the transferring of people back and forth, it's actually within the systems themselves," he said.
NSW Health Pathology's Forensic and Analytical Science Service has a rural triage centre to help avoid unnecessary transfers of deceased people from rural and remote areas, which Mr Bance said was "a real positive".
However, he said a full autopsy facility in southern NSW would "expedite things" for bereaved families.
Gundagai's Jill Jones has been a vocal supporter of opening a coronial pathology lab in Wagga since losing her son Mark in a car accident in 2017, but has put her advocacy on on hold amid the bushfires and coronavirus.
"The only reason that I haven't kept going with it is because I really do believe we need to help those that need help at the moment and I'm all for that," she said.
"Once that's cleared I certainly will be back to try and help to open the pathology department up at the hospital."
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NSW Health Pathology's Forensic and Analytical Science Service executive director Michael Symonds said the relevant departments understood the death of a loved one was "a very difficult time".
"We make best use of our highly specialised teams and equipment to ensure bereaved families and coroners receive the answers they need in a timely, respectful way," Mr Symonds said.
"This model ensures the highest quality service for the people of NSW and makes best use of highly specialised forensic medicine resources."
Member for Wagga Joe McGirr said he would continue to push for improved wait times for bereaved local families, though he said NSW Health had been understandably preoccupied with dealing with coronavirus.
"We're hoping that in more straightforward cases we can avoid the transfer of the body," Dr McGirr said.