Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the awareness of Group B Strep in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) London and (c) England.

Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on Group B Strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed, and this awareness will help eliminate these serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies.

NHS England published a revised Core Competency Framework in May 2023; it covers the mandated training for all maternity services which now includes GBS. Undertaking this training will increase awareness and understanding of GBS, enabling midwives and doctors to be better informed when speaking to families about the risk of GBS in labour. The Core Competency Framework is incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme administrated by NHS Resolution.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has an evidence-based i-learn module on GBS that is freely available to RCM members. It would be beneficial for as many midwives as possible to take the training to increase awareness of GBS.

Screening for GBS is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the United Kingdom. However, if it is detected during pregnancy through routine testing, it will be managed in accordance with Trust protocol and information leaflets will be provided on treatment and any associated risks. GBS testing is usually only offered to women who have had GBS in a previous pregnancy, in which case, testing will be carried out by the Trust providing care.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to work with system partners across England on the Group B Strep trial, which is currently underway as a multi-centre randomised controlled trial with 71 hospital sites included. It is looking at whether routine testing of women for GBS, either in late pregnancy or during labour, reduces the occurrence of early-onset neonatal sepsis, compared to the current risk factor-based strategy.