Private Baby Scan Clinics 'putting Expectant Mothers At Risk'

Some high-street clinics are putting lives astatine consequence by allowing unqualified non-specialists to transportation retired babe scans, nan Society of Radiographers (SoR) has warned.

The waste and acquisition national says its members person seen examples of pregnant women being incorrectly diagnosed pinch superior wellness conditions and fixed vulnerable advice.

Other expectant mums person been sent to infirmary aft being told an abnormality meant they would request to extremity nan gestation only to find their babe was wholly healthy.

It is concerned that anyone utilizing an ultrasound instrumentality tin telephone themselves a sonographer and connection nan work - often sold arsenic a reassurance, souvenir aliases sexing scan - up of nan regular 20-week NHS check.

"One time, we had a woman referred [to hospital] from a backstage clinic, who was 8 aliases 9 weeks pregnant," says Elaine Brooks, Midlands location serviceman astatine nan SoR.

"The sonographer astatine nan backstage session said location was nary heartbeat and that nan babe was very, very malformed, and they sent her successful for an induced miscarriage.

"We started scanning nan lady, who was successful tears, and connected nan scan location was a intelligibly beautiful nine-week gestation pinch a heartbeat. It was perfectly fine."

A BBC investigation successful 2020 uncovered akin failures successful nan test of superior aesculapian issues during backstage babe scans.

It heard reports of women who were bleeding and successful symptom being accepted for scans, alternatively than being told to interaction their doctor.

The waste and acquisition union, which is besides nan master assemblage for aesculapian imaging, says it has seen different examples of bad believe by immoderate backstage clinics including:

• Major foetal abnormalities specified arsenic spina bifida aliases polycystic kidneys being missed
• Ectopic pregnancies, wherever nan fertilised ovum implants itself extracurricular of nan womb, either not being diagnosed aliases being falsely diagnosed
• A radiographer continuing to activity arsenic a backstage sonographer contempt having been struck disconnected and banned from moving for nan NHS owed to intersexual misconduct

The president of nan SoR, Katie Thompson, said location were immoderate "really great" backstage services offering checks pinch decently trained staff, but she was peculiarly concerned astir nan maturation of pop-up clinics successful shopping centres and connected precocious streets trading souvenir images aliases scans to uncover nan activity of nan baby.

She said she was alert of different lawsuit wherever a backstage scan precocious successful gestation did not grounds nan babe was still breech aliases lying bottommost first successful nan uterus. The mother was not instantly referred to nan NHS and nan babe later died.

The SoR is now calling for sonographer to go a protected occupation title successful nan UK successful nan aforesaid measurement arsenic dietician, podiatrist, creation therapist aliases radiographer.

That would mean only those who are decently qualified and registered pinch a regulatory assemblage would beryllium allowed to usage that occupation description.

Many backstage sonographers are already qualified midwives aliases radiographers, and accredited training courses are besides available, though this is presently not a ineligible requirement.

Individual sonographers tin besides determine to subordinate nan Register of Clinical Technologists, which nan nationalist tin past hunt to spot if definite standards person been met, but again information is voluntary.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care precocious carried retired a nationalist liking trial of that registry and has written to nan authorities to opportunity nan "risks look sufficiently high" that it should see if stronger regularisation of sonographers whitethorn beryllium needed.

The Care Quality Commission which inspects backstage clinics successful England said galore were providing bully value care, but it "remains concerned that immoderate are not" pinch worries complete unit training, consent policies and procedures for escalating different findings.

Where its inspections place concerns it said it would "hold providers to relationship and make clear that action is required to guarantee unit are adequately trained".

In a statement, nan Department of Health said nan information of patients was paramount and nan regularisation of each healthcare professionals was kept nether review.

"We will cautiously see immoderate proposals from master bodies regarding this," added a spokesman.