The cross-border transfer of critically-ill children for life-saving surgery in Dublin is facing an uncertain future due to Brexit, it has been warned.
It has emerged that all doctors and nurses from Northern Ireland who also work south of the border in any capacity must be registered with Irish regulatory bodies by April 1 as a result of Northern Ireland leaving the EU.
This includes medics and nursing staff who travel with children who are being transferred to the Republic of Ireland for treatment unavailable in Northern Ireland, including babies born with life-threatening congenital heart defects.
Paediatric cardiac surgery is no longer carried out in Northern Ireland after a review of the service found that it was unsustainable.