Unqualified practitioners performing pregnancy scans with devastating consequences

Expectant parents are unknowingly placing their trust in unregulated high street sonographers, with alarming reports emerging of healthy babies being wrongly diagnosed as deceased and life-threatening conditions going undetected.

Fiona Morrison, Director and Co-founder of TLA Medicolegal and Governor of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, says the lack of regulation in private pregnancy scanning clinics represents a significant patient safety crisis that demands immediate action.

The Society of Radiographers has highlighted deeply concerning cases including a blood clot being mistaken for a malformed foetus, with mothers advised to undergo induced miscarriage despite carrying healthy babies.

In other instances, ectopic pregnancies that pose life-threatening risks have been completely missed, whilst serious foetal abnormalities including spina bifida and polycystic kidneys have gone undetected at private scans, only to be discovered weeks later at NHS appointments.

Fiona explains: "What many expectant parents don't realise is that currently anyone can purchase an ultrasound machine and call themselves a sonographer. There is no protected title, no mandatory qualification, and no regulatory oversight. This is fundamentally different from every other healthcare profession where patients can expect a baseline level of competence and accountability."

The issue extends beyond inadequate training. Research has revealed that individuals who have been struck off professional registers or banned from working in NHS hospitals can still perform ultrasound scans in private clinics, operating completely outside any regulatory framework.

Fiona says: "Patients assume they're in safe hands when they book a private scan. They're paying for reassurance and expertise, yet they may be seeing someone with no qualifications whatsoever, or worse, someone who has been removed from NHS practice for misconduct or incompetence. This is an unacceptable gap in patient protection."

The consequences can be devastating. In one case documented by the Society of Radiographers, a mother was told her nine-week pregnancy had no heartbeat, and the baby was severely malformed. She was advised to have an induced miscarriage and spent a weekend believing her baby had died. When she attended her local NHS hospital, sonographers discovered a healthy pregnancy with a normal heartbeat. The private clinic had measured a blood clot rather than the foetus.

Fiona emphasises that the spread of pop-up scanning clinics in high streets offering gender reveal scans and souvenir images, has created a commercial market with minimal safeguards. "These aren't just providing keepsake photos. They're performing diagnostic procedures that require medical expertise. When abnormalities are missed or misdiagnosed, the medicolegal and human consequences are profound."

Fiona calls for urgent regulatory reform including the introduction of a protected title for sonographers, mandatory registration with a regulatory body, and transparent disclosure of practitioner qualifications at the point of booking.

Fiona says: "Patients have a fundamental right to know who is examining them and what qualifications that person holds. They need to understand that not all scanning services are equal, and they should actively ask about the credentials of anyone performing their ultrasound.

"The current situation where anyone can set up shop and perform diagnostic scans on vulnerable pregnant women is untenable. We need regulation that ensures only qualified, competent practitioners can use the title 'sonographer', with proper oversight and accountability when things go wrong.

"Until we have comprehensive regulation, expectant parents must be empowered to ask the right questions: Is this person qualified? Are they registered with a professional body? What happens if there's a problem with my scan? If those questions can't be answered satisfactorily, patients should walk away."

The Department of Health and Social Care has acknowledged that regulation of healthcare professionals is kept under review and will carefully consider proposals from professional bodies. However, for families who have experienced misdiagnosis or missed diagnoses, regulatory change cannot come soon enough.