Leading radiographers have raised serious concerns about “unsafe” high street clinics offering baby scans without a trained specialist after reports of babies being misdiagnosed as having died and medical emergencies being missed.
The Society of Radiographers said there has been a proliferation of high street clinics offering pregnancy scans.
It said anyone with an ultrasound machine can call themselves a sonographer, but other health professionals must be qualified and regulated.
When people perform scans without proper training it can lead to “unsafe” situations for the mother and baby, the SoR said.
It highlighted examples including:
– A blood clot being misdiagnosed as a malformed foetus, with the mother advised to have an induced miscarriage despite the fact the baby was healthy.
– Ectopic pregnancies – which can lead to life threatening outcomes – being missed.
– Missed abnormalities that should have been detected.
– A misdiagnosed problem with a cervix, with the practitioner advising the mother to have two weeks of bed rest – which is “outdated advice”.
The SoR is calling for sonographers to have a “protected” job title, which means only those with qualifications and registered with a regulatory body would be able to use the title.
SoR president and a hospital sonographer Katie Thompson said: “When people go for a scan or any kind of diagnostic test, they assume that the person they’re going to see is qualified to do it.
“They don’t realise that anybody can buy a machine and call themselves a sonographer.
“With registration, no-one would be able to call themselves a sonographer unless they were on that register. If there was a problem or a complaint, the patient would be able to refer them to their regulatory body.”
Elaine Brooks, a former hospital sonographer and Midlands regional officer for the SoR, said: “One time, we had a lady referred in from a private clinic who was eight or nine weeks pregnant.
“The sonographer at the private clinic said there was no heartbeat for the baby and that the baby was very, very malformed, and they sent her in for an induced miscarriage.
“The trust I was working in never accepts reports that come in from private clinics, so we started scanning the lady, who was in tears. On the scan there was clearly a beautiful nine-week pregnancy with a heartbeat. It was absolutely fine.
“Next to the pregnancy was a blood clot – what they’d done is measured the blood clot. But there was a foetus of normal appearance above it. If the hospital had given her the medication the private clinic had recommended, that baby would have miscarried.
“The mother was absolutely over the moon – but also very distraught, because she’d been knocking back the wine all weekend.”
She said that on some occasions, people have gone to private clinics a couple of weeks before their 20-week NHS scan to find out the gender of their baby, and staff have failed to spot major problems.
“Then they come for their NHS scan and there’s quite a large abnormality that should have been picked up – something like spina bifida, polycystic kidneys or fluid-filled ventricles in the head – things that you wouldn’t expect to have developed in a week,” she said.
On other occasions officials have seen cases where ectopic pregnancies have been missed.
The SoR also highlighted concerns about people banned from working in NHS hospitals instead finding employment in private clinics.
Gill Harrison, the SoR’s professional officer for ultrasound, said: “Patients often don’t know who’s conducting their scan. Many are appalled when they realise that someone with no qualifications, or who has been struck off a professional register, can still perform their ultrasound scan.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement: “No parent should face the trauma of an incorrect diagnosis, and our sympathies are with families affected.
“We are committed to ensuring appropriate regulation for all health and care professions so patients can feel confident their care is in safe and qualified hands.
“The regulation of healthcare professionals is kept under review to ensure patient safety remains paramount. We will carefully consider any proposals from professional bodies regarding this.”