Group B Strep Support is one of 13 pregnancy and baby charities who have collectively been given Core Participant status in Module 3 of the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry. Chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge, the inquiry will assess the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the hope of learning lessons for the future.
Module 3 of the inquiry focuses on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems, patients and staff, with consideration of the UK government’s and public’s response to the pandemic. Our Core Participant Status will allow us to have special rights in the Inquiry process, including being represented, making legal submissions and suggesting questions to the Inquiry.
The other pregnancy and baby charities who have also collectively been granted Core Participant status alongside Group B Strep Support are: Aching Arms, Baby Lifeline, Bliss, The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, ICP Support, The Lullaby Trust, Miscarriage Association, NCT, Pelvic Partnership, Pregnancy Sickness Support, Tommy’s and Twins Trust.
Jenny Ward, on behalf of the group, said ‘’Our charities supported thousands of people during the pandemic, and heard countless stories of how the health, safety and wellbeing of expectant parents and their babies were compromised repeatedly. We’ve also worked with frontline health professionals who feel they were not adequately supported throughout this time, and whose training needs were not fully addressed.
‘’While the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has committed to examining the impact of the pandemic on antenatal and postnatal care as part of its overall scope, it has not yet set out that it will be examined specifically within Module 3, which focuses on healthcare. We have urged the Inquiry to ensure this is explicitly included in this Module. With so many affected by the changes to services, it is vital that the Inquiry dedicates adequate time to hearing the voices of parents and expectant parents, to reflect what they and their babies lived through.
‘’Nothing could have prepared the families and babies we support for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. What we do know is that decisions made during this time contributed to the stress, pain and harm which was experienced at a time when life already felt like it was turned upside down.
‘’While as individual organisations we support babies and families at all different stages of their pregnancy, birth and early childhood journey, we are united in our determination to ensure important lessons are learned so that policies implemented in future explicitly consider the full impact on new and expectant parents and their babies”.
