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A warning has been issued by the Society of Radiographers (SoR) regarding the dangers posed by private baby scan clinics on expectant mothers. The SoR has raised concerns about some high-street clinics allowing unqualified non-specialists to perform baby scans, resulting in incorrect diagnoses of serious health conditions and hazardous advice being given to pregnant women. Examples have been cited where pregnant women were misdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary hospital visits and potential risks to the health of both the mother and baby.
Elaine Brooks, the Midlands regional officer at the SoR, highlighted a distressing incident where a pregnant woman was wrongly informed by a sonographer at a private clinic that her pregnancy had no heartbeat and was malformed, leading to a recommendation for an induced miscarriage. However, a follow-up scan revealed a healthy nine-week pregnancy with a heartbeat, contradicting the initial diagnosis. The SoR’s concerns were further validated by a BBC investigation in 2020, which uncovered failures in diagnosing serious medical issues during private baby scans, including instances where women experiencing bleeding and pain were not advised to consult a doctor.
The SoR also reported instances of bad practice by some private clinics, such as missing major foetal abnormalities like spina bifida or ectopic pregnancies, as well as cases where radiographers involved in sexual misconduct continued to operate as sonographers despite being banned from working in the NHS. While acknowledging the presence of well-trained staff in certain private services, the SoR expressed apprehension about the rising number of pop-up clinics in shopping centers and high streets offering souvenir images or revealing the baby’s gender through scans. These concerns have prompted calls for stricter regulation, with the SoR advocating for sonographer to become a protected job title in the UK, similar to dietician or radiographer, which would necessitate qualifications and registration with a regulatory body.
In response to these developments, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care conducted a public interest test of the Register of Clinical Technologists and suggested to the government the need for stronger regulation of sonographers. While the Care Quality Commission acknowledged the provision of good quality care by many private clinics, concerns remain regarding staff training, consent policies, and procedures for handling unusual findings. The Department of Health emphasized the paramount importance of patient safety and stated that the regulation of all healthcare professionals is under constant review, with a willingness to consider proposals from professional bodies regarding the regulation of sonographers
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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