Leading radiographers have raised concerns about the safety of high street baby scans, with reports of misdiagnoses and missed medical emergencies.
The Society of Radiographers (SoR) says when scans are performed by those without proper training, they can lead to “unsafe” situations for the mother and the baby.
It comes amid what the society calls a “proliferation of high street clinics” offering scans, which can provide people with reassurance, provide a baby’s gender, or just offer a lasting image of an unborn child in the womb.
It adds that, under current rules, anyone with an ultrasound machine can call themselves a sonographer (ultrasonic imaging device operator), but professionals working in similar health fields have to be qualified and regulated.
The SoR said examples of poor practice have included:
• A blood clot being misdiagnosed as a malformed foetus, with the mother advised to have an induced miscarriage even though the baby was healthy
• Ectopic pregnancies being missed, which can potentially lead to a mother dying
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• Missed abnormalities which should have been detected
Under the NHS, potential parents are offered an ultrasound scan 12 weeks into their pregnancy and another at 20 weeks, in order to work out when the baby is due and whether the foetus is healthy.
But some private practices say they can offer a scan from as early as six weeks.
The SoR is calling for sonographers to have a “protected” job title, so only those with qualifications and registered with a regulatory body are able to use the status.
Katie Thompson, SoR president and a hospital sonographer 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.
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“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.
Ms Brooks said on some occasions, people have gone to private clinics a few 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.
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The SoR also highlighted concerns regarding people who have been banned from working in NHS hospitals and, instead, get a job with a private clinic.
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.”
In a statement the Department of Health and Social Care said: “No parent should face the trauma of an incorrect diagnosis, and our sympathies are with families affected.
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“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.”
