The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, made a Statement to the House of Commons in which he set out the Governments new maternity strategy to reduce the number of stillbirths.
The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Mims Davies - who has been an adamant supporter of the Group B Strep Support Group and worked cross-party on the issue since being elected in 2015 - asked whether the Secretary of State would take this opportunity to look at Group Strep B.
Commenting, Mims said:
“I really welcome today’s announcement by the Health Secretary. Every stillbirth is a tragedy, and in too many cases preventable. My colleagues Antoinette Sandbach, Victoria Prentis and Will Quince have campaigned tirelessly on the issue of stillbirths in the UK, and I am similarly delighted for them to have had this breakthrough.”
“I also see this as an opportunity to look further into the concerns that I have been raising on behalf of my constituent Lindsay Birkett and all of those affected over Group B Streptococcus (GBS). On average in the UK one baby a week dies from their GBS infection, and one baby a week survives with long-term disabilities – physical, mental or both.”
“Group B Strep is a recognised cause preterm delivery, maternal infections, stillbirths and late miscarriages, and so I welcome that the Health Secretary has agreed to look into this as part of the new maternity strategy.”
Under the new maternity strategy, hundreds of stillbirth, early neonatal death and severe brain injury cases each year will be referred to the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, the new NHS safety investigator led by safety experts.
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch will standardise investigations of cases so that the NHS learns as quickly as possible from what went wrong and shares the learning to prevent future tragedies.
The government is also bringing forward from 2030 to 2025 the ambition to halve rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths, and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth. This would save more than 4,000 thousand lives.
Continuing, Mims said:
“I have also today written to the University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, asking them to ensure that they are in line with the national recommendations and best practice when it comes to group B Strep.”