Group B Strep Support’s Chief Executive Jane Plumb MBE FRSA was recently recognised for her work in baby health, receiving a prestigious honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).
Honorary Fellowships are the highest awards the RCOG grant and are given following a rigorous screening exercise to those who demonstrate the highest level of support to the development of women’s healthcare services. They are very exclusive, with only around five to ten awarded each year.
Jane was awarded her honour at the RCOG headquarters in London on Friday 15 October 2021 by the President of the RCOG, Dr Edward Morris (pictured below with Jane).
“It is an honour to be able to award Jane Plumb MBE with an Honorary Fellowship for the RCOG, in recognition of her tremendous contribution in working towards the eradication of group B Strep (GBS), and founding Group B Strep Support. Jane is responsible for campaigns that have educated and raised awareness of GBS among women, their families and healthcare professionals, while working tirelessly to influence change at policy level.
Jane’s ongoing dedication to preventing GBS infection has informed many College activities, including the production of clinical and patient guidelines, which has increased understanding within maternity staff and the public. She is a leading voice, and this award recognises her expertise, her guidance and the resulting improvements that her work has led to within women’s health.”
dr edward morris, president of the royal college of obstetricians and gynaecologists
Jane’s involvement in group B Strep prevention came after the loss of her second child, Theo, to group B Strep infection in 1996. She co-founded the charity Group B Strep Support as a result and has tirelessly turned her own personal tragedy into a campaign to stop babies’ developing group B Strep infection.
Group B Strep is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in the UK, causing sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Jane’s hard work and commitment has resulted in a massive increase in understanding by obstetricians, midwives and the public of group B Strep as an important cause of baby death and disability, which undoubtedly has saved many babies’ lives over the last two decades, and will save many more in the future.
“I’m delighted and quite overwhelmed to have been given this rare honorary Fellowship by the College. It recognises all the hard work that I and so many others have done to improve awareness and prevention of group B Strep infection in babies in the UK.”
Jane Plumb, mbe frsa
Jane was nominated for the award by Professor Philip Steer, Chair of the charity’s Medical Advisory Panel and Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London, and Dr Alison Wright, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at The Royal Free Hospital and immediate past Vice President of the RCOG.
“It was a privilege to nominate Jane for the prestigious Fellowship ‘honoris causa’, which means ‘for the sake of the honour’. Jane has worked tireless to help women avoid the tragedy of losing a baby to group B Strep infection, and I am delighted that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, of which I am a Fellow, chose her to receive this conspicuous honour. It is a fitting recognition of Jane’s tremendous contributions to women’s and babies’ health.”
Professor Philip Steer, Chair of Group B Strep Support’s Medical Advisory Panel & Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London
“Jane has dedicated most of her working life to the improvement of care for women and their babies, much of it unpaid and above and beyond the call of duty.
“Her hard work and commitment has resulted in a massive increase in understanding by obstetricians, midwives and the public, of this most important cause of neonatal deaths and long-term disability, which has undoubtedly saved many lives.
“The award of the Fellowship honoris causa is bestowed by the Royal College (RCOG) to individuals who have ‘demonstrated the highest level of support to the development of women’s healthcare services’. It is hard to think of a higher level of support than that which Jane has demonstrated.
“This award is so well deserved and we are all delighted to welcome her as an honorary fellow of the RCOG.”
Dr Alison wright, consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at The Royal Free Hospital & immediate past Vice President of the RCOG.
