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Leading radiographers have expressed serious concerns over “unsafe” high street clinics providing baby scans without qualified specialists.
The report details examples of babies being wrongly declared dead and serious medical emergencies being ignored.
Society of Radiographers highlights a surge In such pregnancy Scan clinics, noting that while other health professionals require qualification and regulation, anyone with an ultrasound machine can currently claim to be a sonographer.
When people scan without proper training it can create an “unsafe” situation for them Mother And baby, SOR said.
It highlights examples:
– Blood clots being incorrectly diagnosed as malformed fetuses, with the mother being advised to have an induced abortion, despite the fact that the baby was healthy.
– Ectopic pregnancies – which can have life-threatening consequences – go unnoticed.
– Missed abnormalities that should have been detected.
– A misdiagnosed problem related to the cervix, the doctor advised the mother to take two weeks of bed rest – which is “old advice”.
The SoR is asking sonographers to have a “protected” job title, meaning only those qualified and registered with the regulatory body will be able to use the title.
SOR President and A hospital Sonographer Katie Thompson said: “When people go for a scan or any type of diagnostic test, they assume that the person they’re going to see is qualified to do it.
“They don’t realize that anyone can buy a machine and call themselves a sonographer.
“With registration, no one will be able to call themselves a sonographer unless they are on that register. If there were any issues or complaints, patients would be able to refer them to their regulatory body.”
Ellen Brooks, a former hospital sonographer and SOR’s Midlands regional officer, said: “Once, we had a woman referred from a private clinic who was eight or nine weeks pregnant.
“The sonographer at the private clinic said that the baby had no heartbeat and the baby was very deformed, and they sent her for abortion.
“The trust I was working at never accepts reports from private clinics, so we started scanning the woman, who was crying. The scan clearly showed a beautiful nine-week pregnancy with a heartbeat. She was absolutely fine.
“There was a blood clot next to the pregnancy – what they did was measure the blood clot. But on top of it was a normal-looking fetus. If the hospital had given her the medicine recommended by the private clinic, that baby would have been aborted.
“Mum was absolutely over the moon – but also very distraught because she had been drinking all weekend.”
He said that on some occasions, people have gone to private clinics a few weeks before the 20-week NHS scan to find out the sex of their baby, and staff have failed to detect major problems.
“Then they come for their NHS scan and there’s quite a major abnormality that should have been caught – things like spina bifida, polycystic kidneys or fluid-filled ventricles in the head – things you wouldn’t expect to develop 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 being banned from working in NHS hospitals, instead seeking employment in private clinics.
Gill Harrison, SOR’s professional officer for ultrasound, said: “Patients often do not know who is doing their scan. Many are surprised when they realize that someone with no qualifications, or who has been struck off the professional register, can still do their ultrasound scan.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement: “No parent should have to suffer the trauma of a misdiagnosis, and our sympathies go out to the families affected.
“We are committed to ensuring appropriate regulation for all health and care professions so that patients can feel confident that their care is in safe and capable hands.
“The regulation of health professionals remains under review to ensure that patient safety remains paramount. We will carefully consider any proposals from professional bodies in this regard.”