The recent BBC report highlighting serious safety concerns in private baby scan clinics has prompted discussion across the healthcare sector.
Warnings from the Society of Radiographers (SoR) prompted an investigation which revealed that some high-street and “pop-up” ultrasound providers are enabling unqualified and unregistered individuals to perform scans on expectant mothers.
Whilst expectants have myriad feelings and considerations about their baby scans, they are ultimately entrusting clinics and sonographers with some of their most precious and vulnerable circumstances.
However, when these scans are performed by the inadequately trained, the consequences can be dire.
Enhance Insurance Services works closely with clinics and diagnostic providers across the UK. These concerns raised are not just clinical and patient harm related; they are governance issues, risk-management issues, and ultimately insurance issues.
We hope that this scandal serves as a useful wake-up call for the wider private healthcare market.
Misdiagnosis
According to the BBC and SoR, several incidents have emerged from these poorly regulated clinics:
- Expectant mothers were informed that pregnancy had no heartbeat, only to find their baby was healthy.
- Serious conditions including spina bifida, polycystic kidneys, and ectopic pregnancies were completely missed.
- Significant abnormalities wrongly dismissed as “normal”.
- Individuals who had been struck off from NHS roles were then performing baby scans in private “pop-up” settings.
Some women received dangerously wrong advice, such as being told to “wait and see” in situations which required urgent intervention.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They are now-common symptoms of a fast-growing sector that is outpacing governance and regulation.
The Regulatory Gap and the Risk
“Sonographer”, is not a legally protected title in the UK.
Unlike doctors, radiographers, or midwives, anyone may call themselves a “sonographer”, irrespective of their training.
Many private clinics are operating safely and employing qualified staff.
Unregulated, Low-cost, mobile, or temporary clinics pose the greatest risk. These clinics are looking to ride the surge in popularity of gender reveals and “reassurance scans” which happen outside of formal medical pathways and yet impact clinical decisions made by parents.
The Professional Standards Authority has urged the government to consider stronger regulation.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) also acknowledges concerns around:
- Staff competency
- Handling of unusual findings
- Consent procedures
- Escalation pathways
- Record keeping
Many of these clinics are not CQC registered and they have not benefitted from the care enhancements that the registration journey can provide.
Governance and Indemnity – What could this mean for Clinics?
Whilst the reputational and clinical fallout from a misdiagnosis can be severe, missed anomalies and birth defects like cerebral palsy can exceed £20 million per claim, due to extensive lifelong care costs.
There are also deeper structural risks many clinics overlook.
1 – Vicarious Liability for the Entity
You may be held vicariously liable for the negligent actions of your staff, whether they are employed or self-employed contractors, whether they hold clinical or clerical positions, and regardless of whether they hold their own medical malpractice insurance or medical indemnity cover.
In the event of a claim you may be found to be responsible for:
- Poor hiring practices
- Inadequate training or supervision
- Clerical/Admin errors resulting in treatment errors
- A lack of escalation processes and referral delays in time critical care
- Hygiene, Abuse, and Molestation
Entity-level malpractice claims against clinics are becoming increasingly common.
2 – Dual-Claims Becoming the Norm
In many cases, both the individual clinician and the clinic are named.
A typical claim might read:
“Negligence in the performance and interpretation of ultrasound imaging, and failure of the clinic to provide safe governance.”
If your entity is uninsured, incorrectly insured, the financial exposure can be catastrophic.
3 – Insurance That Does Not Reflect Real Practice
I still come across clinics which rely on:
- Practitioners’ personal indemnity alone, or
- Basic Public Liability policies that do not cover clinical negligence
- Inadequate cover limits for the size of the exposure
These arrangements do not meet CQC requirements and leave dangerous gaps.
This scandal demonstrates why clinics need properly structured:
- Medical Malpractice (Entity-Level) policies which afford the Entity Vicarious Liability Protection for the actions of its employees, whether contracted or otherwise
- Or, Ground-Up Cover / Policies (entity + staff under one policy)
- Robust Clinical Governance and regulatory body aligned SOPs
- Policies which are underwritten in full sight of all diagnostic and ultrasound activities, and are clearly aligned with the patient pathway, regulatory frameworks, and best practice.
The insurance structure must reflect how the clinic operates in real life. Many wordings are general and aligned to a particular set of guidance. Tailored policies may be arranged where CQC-aligned, nonstandard, clinical models are being safely used. Please contact us, or your broker, to ensure that your insurance policy endorses the actual care and patient pathway provided.
Why Ground-Up Cover Offers Better Protection
Ground-Up cover protects:
- The Entity/Company/Clinic/Business, and
- employed clinicians, and
- Contracted practitioners
Against claims arising from Medical Negligence and Regulatory Investigations arising out of work they do through your clinic.
This structure encourages:
- Proactive risk management
- Better claims preparation and defence
- More efficient complaints-handling
- Fewer coverage gaps between clinician and entity policies
Ground-Up Cover also makes your clinic or entity more attractive to prospective staff, especially NHS clinicians, who may only perform private work for you, or who will be more likely to enter private work if they don’t have to go through the up-front cost of arranging their own Private Practice Insurance.
Where scandals can become a turning point
Lessons learned from this can be applied universally to the rest of the Healthcare Sector, highlighting:
- The importance of proactive clinical governance
- The value of qualified staff, and the risks of hiring unqualified people
- Why regulation and insurance play a key part in better healthcare
- The cost of gaps in regulation and insurance
- The need for swift referral and escalation processes
Healthcare is expanding, with more private providers, more telemedicine, and more diagnostics – improving clinical oversight and governance is key to good service delivery and patient outcomes.
In Conclusion
The surging popularity in poorly regulated baby scan clinics is a symptom of a wider issue. Information travels faster than ever and healthcare trends may revolutionise industries overnight. Whilst innovation is excellent, rapid growth without insurance, governance, and evolving regulatory change is dangerous for patients and it can tarnish the public regard for private healthcare providers across all sectors.
Enhance Insurance in Private Healthcare
At Enhance Insurance Services, part of Jensten Group, we specialise in:
- A-Rated, Medical Malpractice insurance for clinics and individual practitioners
- CQC Aligned Clinic Packages
- Vicarious Liability Insurance / Entity Only Protection
- Group-Dr Cover to Provide Cover for Large Groups of Drs/Practitioners
- Enterprise Insurance Solutions and Risk Management for Large Groups and Hospitals
- Expert Knowledge and Key Relationships with Lloyd’s Markets
We partner with our clients to ensure that any insurance programme we become involved with truly reflects their activities, supports best practice, and encompasses each element of the patient pathway.
If you are in any way uncertain about your cover – now is the best time to see that it’s fit for purpose and meets regulations.
