Last week, NHS England released version 2 of their Core Competency Framework (CCF). This framework establishes minimum training standards for all healthcare professionals involved in maternity and neonatal care.
The CCF now includes 'Group B Strep in labour' as one of the essential topics to be covered in training. This means that all maternity and neonatal services in England will be required to provide their staff with training specifically addressing Group B Strep.
The inclusion of this topic in the Core Competency Framework will ensure that healthcare professionals are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide better care for families affected by Group B Strep.
This training will be provided to all staff involved in the care of pregnant women, including obstetricians, midwives, and public health nurses in England so that they can be aware of the risks associated with Group B Strep and the measures they can take to reduce their risk of infection.
By providing this information to healthcare professionals and the public, it is a step towards reducing the incidence of Group B Strep infections in newborns and ensuring that families have access to the resources and information they need to make informed decisions about their care.
The Core Competency Frame can be found here.
Clinical negligence Partner and GBS specialist Stuart Bramley writes:
"This is a wonderfully promising development. Core Competency Frameworks in the NHS do exactly what they say on the tin, and in doing so help to ensure that changes in health provision can keep up to speed with what is really needed.
A clinical practice will be included in a Framework if it is felt to be sufficiently important that new and existing practitioners must be taught about it, and I am delighted that Group B strep has now been recognised as enough of a threat to babies and pregnant women for that to be included.
This should make a significant difference in real life – in the legal claims arising from missed GBS that my colleagues and I handle, a sadly-common theme is that so many midwives, obstetricians and neonatal staff simply didn’t know enough about either how to prevent the infection from being passed on to the baby, or how to recognise the symptoms once that did happen.
This change will not have just fallen out of the sky, but reflects the unstinting work over many years by various organisations and individuals, of which surely the most vital is GBS Support.”
More information and support for Group B Strep can be found here.
We have unrivalled experience in handling Group B Strep claims, representing families and doing everything we can to achieve the maximum compensation to ensure the best possible quality of life for you, your family and your child.
