National charity Group B Strep Support and leading law firm, Irwin Mitchell, are delighted to announce their new corporate partnership to raise greater awareness of group B Strep, and provide support to families affected by it.
Group B Strep is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing meningitis, sepsis or pneumonia in more than 700 babies a year in the UK.
On average, two babies a day develop group B Strep infection, one baby a week dies from group B Strep infection and another survives with life-changing disability.
Although home testing kits are available to buy for £40, Irwin Mitchell has been backing calls from Group B Strep Support to make the ‘gold standard’ test available on the NHS.
Find out more about Irwin Mitchell’s work involving group B strep.
“Sadly, through our work we see first-hand the impact undiagnosed GBS can have on babies and their families. Newborns can be left severely brain damaged due to being starved of oxygen as the infection takes over their bodies, and in some devastating cases the outcome can be fatal.
“The work of Group B Strep Support and the information they provide is invaluable and we look forward to working closely with this excellent charity, to not only help those affected by GBS but to also help reduce the number of life-changing and fatal cases.”
“We are very pleased to partner with Irwin Mitchell who, with their in-depth experience of working with neonatal group B Strep cases, understand the importance of families and their health professionals having good quality information about group B Strep.”
She added: “By partnering with Irwin Mitchell, we can provide information and support to families and their health professionals. We rely on partnerships like these to continue our vital work, and this new partnership will enable us to reach many more of the 800,000 families who have babies each year.”
