Martha's Rule to be rolled out in hospitals

Martha Mills was enjoying her summer holidays before injuring her pancreas in a cycling accident

A scheme has been launched following the death of a 13-year-old who was not admitted to intensive care despite concerns being raised by her family.

NHS England has worked with the parents of Martha Mills, who died from sepsis in 2021. An inquest said Martha could have survived had her care been better.

Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and Peterborough City Hospital will implement Martha's Rule, which will allow patients and families to seek an urgent review if their condition is deteriorating and they feel concerns are not being listened to.

Dr Edward Morris, the NHS medical director in the East of England, said it was "one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years".

The NHS has announced 143 hospitals will implement Martha’s Rule in the scheme's first year, and by March 2025 16 of these will be located in the East of England.

Martha was admitted to King's College Hospital, London, after she injured her pancreas while cycling. She later developed an infection which led to sepsis. The coroner's report said that her death followed a failure to escalate her to intensive care.

Merope Mills and Paul Laity, Martha’s parents, said they were pleased that the roll out of Martha's Rule had started and that the need for it was "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," they said.

'Patient care and safety'

Under Martha's Rule patients and their families will be able to call an internal phone number and request a second opinion from a critical care outreach team. NHS staff will also have access to this same process if they have concerns.

Clinicians will also formally record daily insights and information about a patient’s health directly from their families.

Ms Mills said she and her husband's concerns about Martha's condition were ignored

Dr Morris said: “Rolling out Martha’s Rule to 16 hospital sites in the East of England in this first phase represents one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years, and it’s pleasing that there’s been such good interest from our hospitals.

“This major patient safety initiative will be rolled out to these hospitals later this year, allowing staff, patients and families to immediately raise concerns and bring about an escalation in care in an easily recognisable and fast way.

“Whilst thankfully the need for escalation of care should only be needed in a limited number of cases, this safety net has the opportunity to truly transform patient care and safety.”