Recent media coverage highlighting the Society of Radiographers’ (SOR) call to make Sonographer a regulated and protected title could not be more timely. Across the UK, the private ultrasound sector is expanding rapidly, yet regulation has failed to keep pace. As an NHS sonographer who also works in private practice, I see first-hand how the absence of a protected title is creating confusion, inconsistency, and, most concerningly, potential risk to women and babies.

At present, anyone can legally call themselves a sonographer. There is no protected title, no statutory register, and no legal requirement for an individual performing ultrasound scans to hold a recognised diagnostic ultrasound qualification. This has allowed individuals with limited, partial, or sometimes no accredited training to open scanning clinics and offer services to pregnant women, often under the guise of reassurance, bonding, or wellbeing scans.

This matters, because while ultrasound itself is a safe and well‑established imaging modality, risk arises when it is performed or interpreted by individuals who are not appropriately qualified.

Misrepresentation within the private ultrasound sector

Many large and well-established private ultrasound companies publicly state that they only employ qualified sonographers. These statements create trust and reassurance for families, but across the sector they are not always accurate. Some providers are employing non-qualified or partially qualified practitioners while continuing to market themselves as using fully qualified sonographers.

I have personally contacted organisations to ask for clarity on the qualifications required for practitioners performing scans within their clinics. No response has been forthcoming. That lack of transparency is deeply concerning and leaves women unable to make informed choices about their care.

When clinics imply a level of professional qualification that does not exist, they are not simply using marketing language, they are misleading the very people they claim to support.

Ultrasound is a skilled diagnostic profession

Ultrasound scanning is a highly skilled diagnostic discipline that requires years of structured education, supervised clinical practice, and ongoing professional development. NHS diagnostic ultrasound training is extensive, academically rigorous, and clinically demanding, designed to develop not only technical scanning ability but also advanced pattern recognition, clinical reasoning, and professional judgement.

Even with this level of training and experience, qualified and highly experienced sonographers can occasionally get things wrong. What protects patients in these situations is not individual perfection, but the existence of professional networks and governance structures. Within the NHS and the wider ultrasound community, sonographers rely on colleagues for second opinions, senior review when findings are unclear, and multidisciplinary discussion when something does not feel right. That collective expertise is fundamental to patient safety.

When ultrasound is performed in isolation, without adequate training or professional support structures, that safety net simply does not exist.

The myth of ‘direct NHS links’

Another claim frequently used in private ultrasound marketing is that clinics have “direct links to the NHS”. In the vast majority of cases, this is misleading. A referral pathway is not the same as a direct clinical link.

I work within the NHS. In my clinic, I am the direct link because I am already embedded within NHS systems, standards, and professional accountability frameworks. Suggesting NHS affiliation where it does not truly exist risks giving women a false sense of reassurance and credibility.

Partial training is not a full ultrasound qualification

Nationally, many midwives have undertaken additional training in third trimester ultrasound scanning. This training is valuable and appropriate within its defined scope, but it does not constitute a full diagnostic ultrasound qualification.

Practitioners whose training is limited to third trimester scanning should only be performing scans within that trimester. They should not be undertaking early pregnancy scans, reassurance scans in the first or second trimester, or assessments that fall outside the boundaries of their education and competence. This is not about professional hierarchy; it is about professional boundaries and practising safely within defined limits.

The role of the CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) plays a vital role in healthcare oversight, yet the absence of a protected sonographer title significantly limits its ability to safeguard women and babies in the private ultrasound sector. Clinics can meet regulatory requirements while employing practitioners with widely varying levels of training, and misrepresentation of qualifications often goes unchallenged.

Regulation without protected professional titles leaves too much room for interpretation, inconsistency, and exploitation.

What women and families should ask

Until stronger regulation is in place, women and families should feel empowered to ask clear, professional questions about who is performing their scan. These questions matter and should never be dismissed. Asking them is not confrontational, it is informed and responsible.

"Can I see your ultrasound qualifications?"

"Are you a fully qualified diagnostic sonographer, and which trimesters are you qualified to scan?"

"Do you currently hold, or have you previously held, a diagnostic ultrasound role within the NHS?"

A fully qualified sonographer will welcome these questions. Transparency is a hallmark of safe practice.

Standing with the SOR

I stand fully with the Society of Radiographers in their call to make Sonographer a protected title and to introduce more robust regulation of private ultrasound clinics. Women deserve clarity, honesty, and safety. Babies deserve appropriately trained professionals. And the title Sonographer deserves the same protection afforded to other diagnostic healthcare professions.

Ultrasound is not simply an image on a screen. It is clinical judgement, experience, accountability, and responsibility, and it must be treated as such.

Written by Emma Mather an NHS Sonographer and Clinic Lead advocating for transparency, patient safety, and professional integrity.