Group B Strep Support is a registered charity (Charity No. 1112065), and our trustees are legally responsible for all of our activities. Like many other charities, we are also incorporated as a registered limited company (Company No. 5587535).
Group B Strep Support has a Board of Trustees which is responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of the charity. They meet regularly to discuss, decide and review our strategies and policies and receive reports and updates from the chief executive and the staff team. They play a vital role in ensuring the proper procedures and policies are in place to manage the charity’s resources effectively, provide long-term vision and protect our reputation and value.
Selected for their expertise, the trustees give all their time and expertise to Group B Strep Support voluntarily to make sure we’re doing all we can to prevent group B Strep infection in babies and support the families of those affected.
Prof Edward Morris CBE FRCOG – Chair
Prof Edward Morris is the Regional Medical Director, East of England, NHS England. He is a Past President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and before that was Vice President for Clinical Quality (2016-2019) and Fellows’ representative for the East of England on the RCOG’s Council (2011-2016). He is also Honorary Professor of Women’s Health at the University of East Anglia.
Eddie has authored over 160 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and national documents, and is co-editor of the Journal Post Reproductive Health and inventor of the website Manage my Menopause.
Eddie was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to women’s health and patient safety in the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours.
“I am well known for my work in patient safety and guidelines. I was the inaugural chair of the RCOG Patient Safety and Quality Committee and chair of the British Menopause Society 2013-2015. During my time working as Clinical Director in obstetrics and gynaecology and as RCOG Vice President, I worked hard with the RCOG Clinical Quality department to develop RCOG guidance products and sources of patient information into the high-quality products we see today. A product of which I am particularly proud, and where I really started to get involved with GBSS was in the co-produced guideline into the diagnosis and management of GBS.
From my work on the GBS guideline, I found working with the GBSS team to be enjoyable yet fundamentally very rewarding. Since then, a close bond has developed with the team, and it seemed the natural next step to become the Chair of the Board of Trustees. I greatly enjoy working with Jane and her team.”
Dan Hobster – Treasurer
Dan Hobster is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford. Dan is currently a managing director at a large institutional asset manager. He has previously held roles as an analyst in the US and Asia covering a variety of different sectors.
Dan became involved in GBSS after the loss of his daughter, Natalie, to a GBS infection in 2017. He lives in Hertfordshire with his wife Birgitta, his three sons and a pet Cockapoo.
Dr Alison Bedford Russell
Dr Alison Bedford Russell is a retired neonatologist. She was Neonatal Clinical Co-Director for the Liverpool Neonatal Partnership from April 2021 to July 2025. Her previous consultant roles since 1994 were at St George’s, London, Chelsea and Westminster, Birmingham Heartlands, Birmingham Women’s (where she became medical director) and Sidra Medicine in Qatar where she was deputy Chief of neonatal services.
Her other UK leadership roles included being Southwest Midlands Maternity and Newborn Network Clinical Lead, West Midlands neonatal surgery lead, NICU Clinical Service Director and NHSE West Midlands Strategic Clinical Network Director for Maternity and Newborn services. She is an expert adviser to the UK Government’s National maternity and neonatal investigation led by Baroness Valerie Amos.
She was a founder member of the UK Newborn Life Support training course, and member of the Resuscitation Council NLS sub-committee until her departure to Qatar in 2017. Alison was a member of Group B Strep Support’s Clinical Advisory Panel from 2005 until her retirement from clinical practice in 2025.
Alison’s research interests and publications have mainly centred on neonatal infection, including research related to group B Streptococcus, neonatal immunology and epidemiology. The subject of her MD thesis was investigating the potential use of recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in the prevention and treatment of sepsis in neonates.
Alison Eddy
Alison Eddy is Partner Ambassador for Inclusion at Irwin Mitchell, having opened their London office in 1996, she set up and until recently led the medical negligence team in London. As a medical negligence lawyer, Alison has been a passionate advocate for patient safety and for safe, compassionate healthcare for women and has been committed to raising awareness of inequalities in healthcare, particularly in maternity services.
As a medical negligence lawyer, Alison has for many years specialised in acting for children who have suffered lifelong severe disability as a result of birth injury, sometimes as a result of group B Strep infection. Alison has sat on the Board of several brain injury charities, and is part of a working group looking at ways firms can work collaboratively to improve patient safety.
“I’m delighted to be a trustee for Group B Strep Support. I see the devastating impact group B Strep can have, both on an injured child and the wider family, so it’s a charity close to my heart.
I’m pleased to bring my experience of working with families affected by group B strep and a passion for improving patient safety, to help raise awareness and work towards eradicating these infections.”
Amy Trenter
Amy is a communications and public affairs specialist with over a decade of experience in delivering impactful campaigns and driving policy change for some of the UK’s leading businesses, charities and trade organisations. She currently leads Corporate Affairs in Great Britain and Ireland for global consumer healthcare company, Haleon. Prior to this, Amy worked at strategic communications agency Lexington as an Associate Director, where she provided pro bono public affairs and communications support to Group B Strep Support for 8 years.
Amy holds a degree in History and Politics from St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford, and recently completed a course in behavioural change from University College London. She is a passionate footballer and FA qualified football coach.
Debs Crohn
Debs Crohn is Head of Corporate Governance at NHS Orkney, following a role within the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Directorate.
Collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders, partners and suppliers, she has championed new approaches to digital delivery across health and care, placing customers at its heart, ensuring services are person centred and easily accessible and has recently moved into the role of Corporate Governance and affairs..
“I lost my first daughter Lucy to group B Strep in 1994. Having experienced the trauma of losing a baby in such tragic and avoidable circumstances, I am passionate about raising awareness of GBS and have worked so hard to raise awareness amongst family, friends and my networks of GBS. I promised my daughter I would do whatever I can to ensure no parents goes through what we did when we said goodbye to Lucy.
“I am really looking forward to bringing my skills, knowledge, and experience to my role as a trustee with such a fantastic organisation.”
Diane Jones
Diane Jones is Director of Clinical and Quality Commissioning at NHS North East London ICB.
As a system leader Diane has significant experience in commissioning, quality improvement, change management, governance, and risk management. Diane is a member of the London Clinical Senate. Diane champions equity and inclusion as well as working to address health inequalities.
“I am so pleased to be joining such a worthy charity. As a Midwife, I know and have seen the effects of group B Strep on babies and families. It has been an ambition of mine to get involved in raising awareness, particularly among young people. I want to support the charity’s vision and stop group B Strep infection in babies.”
Geoff Baldock
Geoff is an experienced Chief Financial Officer and ICAEW chartered accountant. Over his career, Geoff has worked in senior finance roles within private-equity-backed organisations, across multiple sectors, and in international environments. He has supported leadership teams through periods of growth and change, focusing on sound financial management, good governance and effective decision-making.
“Group B Strep affected both my daughter and my grandson at birth. He spent the first week of his life in ICU, and while we were fortunate to see them both recover, I know many families are not as lucky. Supporting GBSS is therefore personal for me, and a way to help ensure more parents and babies get the awareness and protection they need.”
Jane Plumb MBE FRCOG – Chief Executive
Jane co-founded Group B Strep Support in 1996 with her husband Robert after the death of their middle child from group B Strep infection. She has led the charity ever since, working to prevent group B Strep infections in babies through awareness, support, policy change, and research.
Outside of GBSS, Jane is the Women’s Voices Lead and Chair of the Women’s Network at the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists. She is Chair of the Pregnancy & Baby Charities Network, Acting Chair of Council for the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations and a European representative and a trustee for the Meningitis Research Foundation. She contributes to national and international work on meningitis and maternal health, including the WHO’s Defeat Meningitis Road Map and the GBS3 trial. Jane has served on NICE guideline committees and scientific advisory boards, was awarded an MBE for services to child health in 2012 and a Fellowship Honoris Causa of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 2021.
Jane says: “After losing our son to group B Strep, I knew I had to do something to stop other families going through the same heartbreak. Group B Strep Support exists to save babies’ lives — by raising awareness, supporting affected families, pushing for better policies and practices, and driving research into prevention and treatment. Every baby deserves the best possible start, and every family deserves answers and support.”
Robert Plumb
Robert Plumb was born in the US, where group B Strep cases have reduced sharply as a result of the measures Group B Strep Support wants to see applied in the UK.
Robert has a degree in mathematics and an MBA from Wharton and later earned an actuarial qualification from the US Society of Actuaries. He came to the UK aged 25 and most of his career has focussed on consultancy, combining his actuarial and business knowledge. He was a management consultant at KPMG and for many years was a Principal, UK Partner and European Partner at Mercer. He was seconded as Pensions Manager at Johnson Matthey and at the Pensions Regulator managing the introduction of new regulatory requirements for large pension schemes. Now self-employed, he also leads projects for Muse Advisory, a pensions consulting firm. His clients have included many of Britain’s largest companies, charities and public sector bodies.
Robert served for many years as a governor of Great Walstead School, an independent school and charity, chairing the finance committee and serving as vice-chair. He was a trustee and treasurer of The Point Church, a Church of England church and charity. He has volunteered for many years as an adviser for the Pensions Advisory Service and The Pensions Ombudsman. He has also been treasurer of a cricket club, something few Americans can say, and can explain the rules of cricket in baseball terms, and vice versa.
His interest in group B Strep infections is personal, as his and Jane’s second child Theo died from group B Strep infection in 1996.
Stuart Bramley
Stuart Bramley was a medical negligence solicitor for 32 years, spending 15 years on the Defendant side before switching and representing injured Claimants for a further 17. He retired in 2023 but retains an interest in medical issues.
Whilst still working full time, Stuart commented “I switched sides 15 years ago. Because I specialise in birth claims, I came across Group B Strep Support when I was instructed in my first Strep B legal claim in 2007. Once I researched the condition and realised how many babies are affected by this, it became important to help as many parents and children as possible whose lives have been changed by this dreadful condition. I hope that by being a Trustee I can play some small part in preventing the infection spreading rather than only assisting those individuals affected after it is too late. The work carried out for so long by GBSS in publicising Strep B, amongst health professionals as well as parents-to-be, has been an extraordinarily worthwhile campaign. In my spare time I try to combine cycling with bringing up my twin girls.”
