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NHS England has reported that almost one in eight phone calls made using the Martha’s Rule scheme has resulted in a potentially life-saving change in treatment. The scheme enables patients and their families to request an urgent review from a critical-care outreach team when they feel their concerns are being ignored. Merope Mills led the campaign for the scheme after the inquest into the death of her 13-year-old daughter from sepsis found that a change of care plan could have saved her life. The scheme has been introduced in 143 NHS hospitals across England.
In the months of September and October, 573 calls were made using the service, with 50% of these leading to a critical-care review. The changes in treatment resulting from these reviews included antibiotics, oxygen, and other medications, with 14 patients additionally transferred to intensive care. Martha died after developing an infection that led to sepsis during her stay at King’s College Hospital, in south London.
Mills told BBC R4’s Today programme on Tuesday that she was “excited” by the early data regarding the rollout of the scheme. She highlighted a report by the Institute of Global Health Innovation that revealed over 15,000 preventable deaths in the UK last year and said that Martha’s Rule could play a crucial role in reducing this number. She also called for the identical branding of posters and leaflets across all NHS hospitals for better patient understanding.
NHS England has confirmed that the scheme will be extended to more hospitals in 2025 and 2026, with additional adjustments made where necessary. A similar service is being trialled in Wales, under consideration in Northern Ireland, and legislation introduced in 2019 giving Scottish NHS patients the right to request a second opinion.
Although some were sceptical of the idea initially, Mills stressed that the evidence gathered proved that patients had not utilised the service for trivial reasons, contrary to fears that it would be used for complaints about food or requests for a cup of tea. She believes that implementing Martha’s Rule across the country would greatly improve care, change the culture and ultimately save lives
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