Urgent measures introduced under Martha's rule

An image of Hull Royal Infirmary's main sign, with the hospital itself in the background behind a landscaped garden area.
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Hospitals including Hull Royal Infirmary have launched a new service for families to raise concerns

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People will now be able to use a new service to raise urgent concerns about their loved ones' condition at some East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire hospitals.

It has been brought in by the NHS Humber Health Partnership in response to Martha's rule, includes a daily patient questionnaire and a helpline.

Named after Martha Mills, who died of sepsis in 2021, the measures are a way for families and friends to seek a second opinion.

Dr Kate Wood, group chief medical officer at the partnership, urged people who feel there has been a "significant change in a patient's condition" that had not been addressed to "please use Martha's rule".

An image of a girl smiling taken in front of a lake. She has mid-brown hair in a bobbed style, she is wearing a blue floral top. Image source, Mills/Laity family photograph/PA Wire
Image caption,

Martha Mills died in 2021 after a holiday bike accident left her with serious injuries to her pancreas

The new Detecting Deterioration service will include a helpline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which will allow people to request a rapid review if they have concerns about a patient's condition.

It will be made available at Hull Royal Infirmary, Scunthorpe General, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, Goole and Castle Hill.

A pilot began last year at 143 NHS hospitals and is now being rolled out across the rest of the country.

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