Contact your MP
We at GBSS are constantly striving to raise awareness of GBS amongst healthcare professionals, parents and others who can help improve prevention. As part of this commitment, we also try to raise the issue with MPs wherever possible. To do this, we need your help!
Would you be willing to meet with or write to your MP to raise the issue of preventing group B Strep infections in newborn babies with him/her? If so, please read on ....
Supporter Justine Baker met Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg on 11 February 2011 when he visited Taunton:
"I asked him as a parent of 3 young boys whether he had ever heard of GBS. He hadn't and was interested to hear about the infection. He was surprised how many newborn babies it affects and how many sadly die from the infection. It was good to make him aware of GBS and I told him we need to make sure that all health care professionals that come in contact with pregnant women need to be educated about GBS so that the information can be passed on to pregnant women so that they can make a choice whether they pay for the test."
Please contact your MP about GBS prevention
Who is your Parliamentary Representative?
If you live in the UK don't know who your MP is, you can find out here. If you like to email your MP, requesting a meeting and/or providing some information on group B Strep and why prevention is so important, you can use a neat little app by clicking here.
- If you live in Northern Ireland and would like to contact your MLA, you can find out who s/he is and how to contact him/her by clicking here.
- If you live in Wales and would like to contact your AM, you can find out who s/he is and how to contact him/her by clicking here.
- If you live in Scotland and would like to contact your MSP, you can find out who s/he is and how to contact him/her by clicking here.
Need help with what to write?
GBSS has prepared a draft letter to help constituents raise awareness on GBS in Parliament. The template can be easily amended for your Parliamentary representative - it is really important to personalise it (though please leave the information about the poll we did exactly as it is so we don't upset the lovely survey people). MPs get a lot of 'standard' correspondence and, inevitably, individual letters and emails make great impact. You can download a Word Document of the letter template (though you can use the text for emails too) by clicking here for a Word docx or here for a text file.
There are currently two Early Day Motions (EDMs) on group B Strep - please ask your MP to sign them both. They are EDM 62 and EDM 64 - the names of the signatories are updated each weekday.
We have also prepared a Briefing Paper, giving information about GBS and why action is needed. You can use some of the information from this in your letter and also to give to your representative when you meet him. Click here to access it.
If you have any problems downloading anything, please email us at info@gbss.org.uk and we'll happily send you this information in the post.
And please do let us know what your MP's response is to your contacting him/her.
You can see some of the questions which have been asked in Westminster and the Scottish Parliament by clicking here. |