Two Cumbrian hospitals are among the 143 infirmaries to test Martha’s Rule.
Martha’s Rule allows patients and their families to request a second opinion if people’s conditions deteriorate and they are concerned they are not being listened to.
The NHS announced the hospital sites, including the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, which will roll out Martha’s Rule in its first year.
Evaluation of how the system works at the sites over the course of this year will inform proposals for Martha’s Rule to be expanded further across all acute hospitals, subject to future government funding.
The scheme is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis having been treated at King’s College Hospital, London in 2021, due to a failure to escalate her to intensive care, and after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to.
NHS England is working with Martha’s parents 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’s Rule is to be made up of three components to ensure concerns about deterioration can be swiftly responded to.
- An escalation process will be available 24/7 at all the 143 sites, advertised throughout the hospitals on posters and leaflets, enabling patients and families to contact a critical care outreach team that can swiftly assess a case and escalate care if necessary.
- NHS staff will also have access to this same process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition.
- Clinicians at participating hospitals will also formally record daily insights and information about a patient’s health directly from their families, ensuring any concerning changes in behaviour or condition noticed by the people who know the patient best are considered by staff.
Extensive campaigning by her parents Merope and Paul, supported by the cross-party think tank Demos, saw widespread support for a single system that allows patients or their families to trigger an urgent clinical review from a different team in the hospital if the patient’s condition is rapidly worsening and they feel they are not getting the care they need.
Also among the 143 hospitals rolling out Martha’s Rule are:
- Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle
- Freeman Hospital, Newcastle
- James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and Furness General Hospital in Barrow, missed out on being selected for phase one.
Tabetha Darmon, the trust’s chief nursing officer, said: “We warmly welcome the fact that the NHS has announced 143 hospital sites that will test and roll out Martha’s Rule in its first year.
“Improving patient care and treatment is a top priority at UHMBT and Martha’s Rule is in line with our clinical strategy – putting patients first.
“We fully back Martha’s Rule and aim to be in phase two of the roll-out.
“It is incredibly important that staff, families, friends and carers can speak up if they are concerned that their loved one’s condition is deteriorating because their insights can enable staff to better identify and manage any decline.
“Huge credit must go to Martha’s parents for their kindness and tenacity in taking this excellent initiative forward; it is a wonderful tribute to their daughter.”
A spokesman added that the trust was already working on how it could implement Martha’s Rule.
