23,000 pregnant women not receiving anomaly scans, obstetrics professor tells health committee

Failure to offer all pregnant women a 20-week foetal anomaly scan will result in 230 missed cases of congenital abnormalities every year with potentially devastating consequences for families.

Louise Kenny, professor of obstetrics at University College Cork, said a phone survey of all 19 maternity units last week found 23,000 women were not receiving the scan.

The figure is based on five of the maternity units not offering the scan at all while seven others only offer it selectively.