In 1996, my second child, Theo, died aged 17½ hours from group B Strep infection. My husband, Robert, and I set up UK charity Group B Strep Support to stop group B Strep infections in newborn babies; support families affected by GBS and their health professionals; and support relevant research. Group B Strep Support is supported by a highly respected medical advisory panel, and is the primary provider of patient information materials on group B Strep to the NHS. I lead the charity, and work with many UK medical bodies to improve national standards of prevention, including the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, the UK National Screening Committee and the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE). I also work with MPs and the Department of Health & Social Care on improving the prevention of GBS infection in newborn babies. I love to collaborate, and am keen to find synergy between organisations and charities with Group B Strep Support or with me - together we are stronger! I am Women's Voices Lead and Chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists’ Women’s Network and Member of the Advisory Council for the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations. I have been and am a co-applicant on many group B Strep research projects, including the GBS3 trial, where I co-lead the Patient & Public Involvement work. I was a member of the guideline development group for both NICE’s Antibiotics for Neonatal Infection guideline and quality standard, and their Preterm Labour and Birth guideline and quality standard. I was a member of the World Health Organization’s Extended Technical Taskforce on Defeating Meningitis By 2030 and contributed to their Roadmap to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. I was on the Scientific Committees for the International Symposium on Streptococcus Agalactiae Disease for 2018, 2021 and 2023, leading the Patient Voice Stream, and was a member of the Department of Health’s priority setting workshops for group B Strep research in 2015/6. I was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to child health, Fellowship of the RSA in 2020 and Fellowship Honoris Causa of the Royal College & Obstetricians in 2021. I also won Tesco Campaigning Mum of the Year in 2014.
Listed skills include Strategy, Charities, Public Health, Fundraising, and 46 others.