High street clinics offering pregnancy scans could be putting unborn babies and their mothers in danger through a lack of properly trained staff, UK experts have warned.
According to the Society for Radiographers (SoR), high street clinics have seen a huge growth in numbers. However, hospital specialists say they have seen cases of missed health problems, misdiagnosed conditions, and situations in which women were erroneously told their babies were malformed or had died.
“I had a lady referred for a potential miscarriage from a clinic and when I scanned her they’d measured a bleed in the womb and they completely missed a very early pregnancy sac with a baby inside it,” said Katie Thompson, a hospital sonographer and president of the SoR.
“Potentially, if they were at a private clinic that could offer a miscarriage service, then they could have been given some medication to bring on a miscarriage on a pregnancy that was actually not miscarrying,” she said.
The SoR says it has also seen cases in which private clinics have wrongly told women they have an ectopic pregnancy – a potentially life-threatening condition – or conversely missed an ectopic pregnancy, while they have also misdiagnosed problems with the cervix and missed abnormalities in babies that should have been picked up.
Elaine Brooks, a former hospital sonographer and Midlands regional officer for the SoR, said some people attended their 20-week hospital scan after having had a private “sexing” scan a week or two before.
“And 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.
The revelations come amid calls from the SoR for sonographers to have a “protected” job title – meaning it can be used only by qualified practitioners registered with a regulatory body. This is already the case for titles such as radiographer, dietician and speech and language therapist.
“At the moment, absolutely anybody can go and buy an ultrasound machine and set up a practice without any qualifications whatsoever. And that has happened,” said Thompson. “There has been somebody that bought a machine and started scanning in her front room because after having a baby, she thought it’d be a nice thing to do.”
Thompson said it was also possible for people who had been struck off a professional register to offer ultrasound scans in a private setting.
The SoR said the Health and Care Professions Council had evidence of a sonographer who had been struck off the professional register for radiographers for 10 years for sexual misconduct and was later employed in a private ultrasound clinic.
Thompson said the lack of a professional register meant it was difficult to check if someone had had the appropriate training, but that there were some steps people could take.
This includes checking how long a clinic has been operating, that it is not only registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) but has had a visit from them, and checking reviews. Thompson also suggested asking people such as midwives, friends, family, GPs and NHS sonographers for recommendations.
“There are some excellent private clinics around that have fully qualified staff,” she said.
The Department of Health and Social Care noted that while sonography was not a legally regulated profession, sonographers could voluntarily join the Register of Clinical Technologists, meaning patients can check whether they have met professional standards.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “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.”
