Martha’s Rule – named after 13-year-old Martha Mills who died in 2021 – will allow patients and families to seek a second opinion if they feel their condition, or the condition of a loved one, is deteriorating and they are not being listened to. NHS staff will also have access to the same process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition. The escalation process will be available 24/7 at all 143 sites, including Basingstoke, with an internal phone number advertised on posters and leaflets throughout the hospitals.
Families and patients who ring the number will be able to request a second opinion from a critical care outreach team. The programme will be in place at all 143 sites by March 2025, NHS England said. NHS England is working with Martha’s parents, Merope Mills and Paul Laity, to develop materials to advertise and explain the initiative in hospitals across the country, to ensure it is something that all patients, staff and their families can recognise.
Martha died after developing sepsis when she suffered a pancreatic injury following a fall from her bike. Her parents raised concerns about her health at Kings College Hospital, in London, a number of times but these were not responded to. The new system will be evaluated throughout the year to inform proposals for Martha’s Rule to be expanded further across all acute hospitals, subject to future government funding.
The new rule will also require clinicians at participating hospitals to formally record.