A patient safety protocol called “Martha’s rule” will be tested in a total of 143 hospitals, NHS England said on Monday.
Under the rule, patients and their families must have round-the-clock access to a critical care outreach team that can provide a second opinion when they are concerned a patient’s condition has deteriorated. Hospital staff will also have access to the system.
Hospitals are also required to formally obtain information about a patient’s condition directly from their families at least daily.
The rule was named after Martha Mills, a 13-year-old girl who died in 2021 after developing sepsis in hospital and after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to.
The girl, who was hospitalised after falling off her bike, would have probably survived if she had been moved to intensive care earlier, a coroner ruled in 2023.
Asking hospitals to register their interest in testing the programme, NHS England previously said at least a hundred hospitals would be enrolled in the first phase, but the initial rollout has now been expanded to 143 hospitals “due to significant interest from frontline clinicians.”
NHS England said it’s working with Matha’s parents, Merope Mills and Paul Laity, to develop advertising materials explaining the initiative, and to ensure “it is something that all patients, staff, and their families can recognise.”
The programme will be in place by March 2025 at the 143 locations, which NHS England has listed, and expanded in future phases from 2025/2026.
Mr. Laity and Ms. Mills said they are “pleased” that the roll out of Martha’s Rule “is off to a flying start and that the need for it has been so widely recognised.”
“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,” the parents said in a statement.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, thanked Martha’s parents for their “moving and dedicated campaigning.”
“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,” he said.
Dr. Aidan Fowler, NHS national patient safety director and senior responsible officer for Martha’s Rule, said: “Working closely with Martha’s parents and colleagues across the NHS over the last few months on this rollout, I am in no doubt this programme will deliver clear change and it has been so encouraging to see how many hospitals have shown interest in being part of delivering these all-important patient safety measures this year.
“With new processes that enable both patients and staff to raise concerns if they see someone’s condition worsening, and the inclusion of patients and their loved ones’ insights in medical records, these measures can help us better identify and manage deterioration as part of wider work, which is a key priority for us and will no doubt lead to improvements in the care patients receive,” he added.
On Sunday, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting vowed Labour will “pursue a decade of change including protections for whistleblowers and sackings for those who try to silence them” in an op-ed published in The Sunday Times.
Rachel Roberts contributed to this report.
