Martha’s rule to be rolled out in 143 NHS hospitals in England

Martha’s rule, the patient safety initiative enabling those whose health is failing to obtain an urgent second opinion about their care, is to be rolled out in 143 hospitals in England, the NHS has said.

The move, described by NHS officials as one of the most important changes to patient care in years, will allow patients, relatives and staff to get a review of their condition and treatment directly from doctors and nurses not involved in the medical team treating them.

Patients at the hospitals involved in the programme will gain 24/7 access to a critical care team from elsewhere in the building who specialise in the care of patients who are deteriorating and will assess the situation. An internal phone number will be advertised on posters and leaflets in the hospitals.

The initial target was to enrol 100 sites. However, NHS England said that target had been exceeded due to “significant interest” from frontline clinicians. The first phase of the scheme will begin in the autumn and be in place at all 143 sites by March 2025.

The initiative is the direct result of pressure put on politicians, NHS bosses and doctors after Merope Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, and her husband, Paul Laity, told the story of what happened to their daughter, 13-year-old Martha, who died of sepsis at King’s College hospital in London in 2021.

“We are pleased that the rollout of Martha’s rule is off to a flying start and that the need for it has been so widely recognised,” Martha’s parents said in a statement on Monday. “It will save lives and encourage better, more open, communication on hospital wards, so that patients feel they are listened to, and partners in their healthcare.”

Martha had sustained an injury to her pancreas when she fell off her bike on a summer holiday. However, doctors at King’s College did not listen to her parents’ concerns, including the possibility Martha could have had sepsis, a major cause of avoidable death that kills an estimated 40,000 people a year in the UK.

Some of the doctors knew days before she died that Martha had sepsis, but did not tell her parents and failed to send Martha to intensive care. An inquest heard that she would probably have survived if she had been moved to intensive care sooner, which her parents had asked doctors to do.

Prof Stephen Powis, the medical director of NHS England, said: “Rolling out Martha’s rule to over 143 NHS sites in this first phase will represent one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years, and we are pleased to have seen such interest from hospitals right across the country, all thanks to the moving and dedicated campaigning by Martha’s parents, Merope and Paul.”