When people perform scans without proper training, it can lead to \u201cunsafe\u201d situations for the mother<\/a> and baby, the SoR said.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Scans performed without proper training can lead to \u2018unsafe\u2019 situations for the mother and baby (Getty)<\/p>\n It highlighted examples including:<\/p>\n A blood clot being misdiagnosed as a malformed foetus, with the mother<\/a> advised to have an induced miscarriage despite the fact that the baby was healthyEctopic pregnancies \u2013 which can lead to life-threatening outcomes \u2013 being missedMissed abnormalities that should have been detectedA misdiagnosed problem with a cervix, with the practitioner advising the mother to have two weeks of bed rest \u2013 which is \u201coutdated advice\u201d<\/p>\n The SoR is calling for sonographers to have a \u201cprotected\u201d job title, which means only those with qualifications and registered with a regulatory body would be able to use the title.<\/p>\n SoR president and a hospital<\/a> sonographer, Katie Thompson, said: \u201cWhen people go for a scan or any kind of diagnostic test, they assume that the person they\u2019re going to see is qualified to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t realise that anybody can buy a machine and call themselves a sonographer.<\/p>\n \u201cWith registration, no one would be able to call themselves a sonographer unless they were on that register. If there was a problem or a complaint, the patient would be able to refer them to their regulatory body.\u201d<\/p>\n Elaine Brooks, a former hospital<\/a> sonographer and Midlands regional officer for the SoR, said: \u201cOne time, we had a lady referred in from a private clinic who was eight or nine weeks pregnant.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sonographer at the private clinic said there was no heartbeat for the baby and that the baby was very, very malformed, and they sent her in for an induced miscarriage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trust I was working in never accepts reports that come in from private clinics, so we started scanning the lady, who was in tears. On the scan there was clearly a beautiful nine-week pregnancy<\/a> with a heartbeat. It was absolutely fine.<\/p>\n \u201cNext to the pregnancy was a blood clot \u2013 what they\u2019d done is measured the blood clot. But there was a foetus of normal appearance above it. If the hospital had given her the medication the private clinic had recommended, that baby would have miscarried.<\/p>\n![\"Scans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/iStock-1467241358.jpg\")
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