Mums-to-be scan shock

Mar 29 2005 By James Cartledge

Thousands of mums-to-be have been forced to pay £150 for crucial pregnancy scans because of staff shortages at hospitals in Birmingham and Solihull.

The mid-term check, which can detect serious abnormalities in an unborn child, has not been available at Heartlands and Solihull hospitals for three years.

Despite being free at other Birmingham hospitals, mothers whose pregnancies are considered low-risk must pay a private clinic £150 if they want a 20-week scan.

Hospital chiefs today blamed a national shortage of staff able to carry out the scans.

But they also revealed the 20-week procedure would be reintroduced later this year. "A 20-week scan is not is always medically necessary, although it has become fashionable to find out the sex of the baby," said Fay Baillie, of Heartlands maternity unit.

"Last week the maternity unit was assessed by independent inspectors and achieved the highest standards of safety. Women can have every confidence in the safety of the service we provide."

All women covered by Heartlands and Solihull hospitals currently receive a standard 12-week scan.

But Ms Baillie said the 20-week procedure, routinely offered at sites including Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Cold-field, had been "devoted to those women who most need it".

But mother-of-two Rehana Afridi, who had her second child, Ella-mai, at Solihull Hospital last April, said she was amazed not to be offered a second scan routinely.

"I would have preferred to have a second scan. It's something that should be offered to all mums-tobe," she said. Mothers wanting a 20-week scan are referred to sites including BUPA's Parkway clinic and Midlands Ultrasound at Knowle. Both charge £150.