THERE ARE now major concerns ultrasound scanning services in maternity hospitals could be overwhelmed if pregnant women begin seeking additional scans “out of fear” following the current controversy over miscarriage misdiagnosis, a leading obstetrician has said.
Prof Michael Turner, clinical lead of the HSE’s obstetrics programme, said hospitals “are already hard-pressed to provide ultrasound services for mothers in the first trimester of pregnancy, so we don’t want to get into a situation where we are repeating ultrasound examinations unnecessarily out of fear . . . it’s got to be focused on medical need and not unnecessary fear”.
He said he was very conscious of the psychological impact of a miscarriage, adding that “all our hearts go out to those couples over the last few days who have had the bitter-sweet experience of being diagnosed with having a miscarriage and yet have had a healthy baby”.
But it was important, he said, that media coverage of the controversy did not undermine the confidence of women in the maternity services.
“I think it’s important that we keep a sense of balance . . . Ireland fortunately continues to have one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world.”
The controversy, he said, would also serve to remind everyone again that all tests have limitations. “Scans have limitations,” he said, adding that it was important they were not viewed in isolation from a patient’s history.
Speaking as the HSE announced another 150 women had called its helplines yesterday, Prof Turner said health professionals, including himself, had learned from the controversy.
“It’s reminded us yet again how important it is for healthcare professionals to listen to the patient.”
Asked if there was a possibility some foetuses might have been aborted after miscarriages were wrongly diagnosed he said:
“I’ve never heard of it happening and if it did I would expect it to be reported within the hospital.
“For example, I spent seven years as the master in the Coombe and if such an event had happened it would have been brought to my attention within an hour.”
Asked if women themselves would have been told of such an event he said,“Absolutely”.
He admitted the standard of ultrasound training needed to be improved.
There were different levels of skills required. Very early pregnancy scanning required a greater level of skill.Prof Turner stressed it was good practice to be extremely cautious when diagnosing a miscarriage in the very early stages of pregnancy.
“Clinical experience tells us that in many cases it’s good practice to wait and repeat the scan two weeks later to be absolutely certain.”
In her first public comments on the matter yesterday, Minister for Health Mary Harney said she wanted to express her sympathy, support and solidarity with the women who had come forward this week “and had such a traumatic and terrible experience both for themselves and their families”.
She said she may not have been on radio or TV since the controversy broke, but that did not mean she was not working hard “to put right in so far as we can our obstetrics services around the country”.