Overview
- Professional bodies report dangerous errors at private scan outlets, including babies wrongly declared dead, missed ectopic pregnancies, and serious abnormalities overlooked.
- One cited case involved a blood clot being measured instead of the fetus, with the mother told to have an induced miscarriage before an NHS scan confirmed a healthy nine‑week pregnancy.
- Sonography is not a legally protected profession in the UK, allowing anyone to buy an ultrasound machine and present as a sonographer, which experts say has fueled a proliferation of clinics.
- The Society of Radiographers says evidence from the HCPC shows individuals struck off professional registers have later worked in private ultrasound settings.
- The Department of Health and Social Care expressed sympathy for affected families and said it will consider proposals from professional bodies, but no statutory changes have been announced.