Death of Shropshire baby brings back heartbreak for campaigner

Hayley Matthews has joined calls for more to be done to combat group B streptococcus, after losing her son Jack Stephen Burn

She said she was saddened to hear more families had been through what she had experienced, after hearing of the outcome of the inquest into the death of baby Pippa Griffiths.

The 31-year-old, of Stirchley, is fighting to get coroners to reopen inquiries into her son's death and has been working for two years for investigations into the circumstances surrounding his birth.

She has joined calls from other parents affected by the illness for greater screening against the infection.

Hayley lost her son Jack Stephen Burn on March 16 2015, just 11 hours after he was born.

She said Jack’s death was put down to him contracting group B streptococcus, also known as Strep B or GBS, a life-threatening infection for newborns.

But she added: “Reading about what happened just brought it all back to me.

"I am sad to hear that it is still happening to people."

Hayley said she has had solicitors working on her case for two years, and has even had a report into Jack's death put together by professionals.

She added: "Something needs to be done, I lost my little boy, others are losing their children.

"You aren't told enough about it."

Group B strep is the UK’s most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia.

Carried normally by one in every four women, the group B strep bacteria can pass from a pregnant woman to her baby around birth with potentially devastating consequences for the baby.

A petition signed by 250,000 people was recently taken by campaigners, including Reverend Charlotte Cheshire from Lawley, to the House of Commons in January to make testing for group B streptococcus routinely and freely available for all pregnant women in the UK.

But they said the calls have recently been given another blow after they were told that no further action would be taken.

Kayleigh and Colin Griffith, the parents of Pippa who died at one day old on April 27 2016 have also called for tests to be introduced.

Shropshire Coroner John Ellery concluded on Wednesday that Pippa's death from the infection was preventable, and that midwives from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust had failed to leave a vital information leaflet after the home-birth, or carry out a "complete systematic inquiry" when Mrs Griffiths outlined concerns about Pippa's condition over the phone.

Zak Golombeck, a clinical negligence specialist at Slater and Gordon, who represent the family, said people need to know more about group B strep to ensure they are not faced with the tragedy suffered by Mr and Mrs Griffiths