\n New\u00a0data shows hundreds of patients have benefited from potentially lifesaving changes to their care thanks to its rollout.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Martha\u2019s Rule is an NHS policy that lets patients, families, carers, or staff call for a rapid, independent review by a critical care team if they believe someone\u2019s condition is getting worse and not being properly addressed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Between September 2024 and June 2025, there were 4,906 calls made to Martha\u2019s rule helplines to escalate concerns about care leading to 241 potentially life-saving interventions being triggered.\n<\/p>\n
\n The positive results from the first year have led the NHS to expand its use to an additional 67 sites – meaning all 210 acute inpatient sites in England now offer the service.\n<\/p>\n
\n Martha Mills died in 2021 aged 13 after developing sepsis in hospital, where she had been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike.\n<\/p>\n
\n Martha\u2019s family\u2019s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to, and in 2023 a coroner ruled that Martha would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier.\n<\/p>\n
\n In May 2024, NHS England announced the rollout of Martha\u2019s Rule across 143 pilot sites following the campaigning of Martha Mills\u2019 parents, Merope and Paul.\n<\/p>\n
\n Of those 143 sites, several in Greater Manchester including Royal Oldham Hospital.\n<\/p>\n
\n Other North West sites include:\n<\/p>\n
Countess of Chester Hospital<\/p>\n
Wirral University Teaching Hospital<\/p>\n
Royal Liverpool University<\/p>\n
Southport District General Hospital<\/p>\n
Royal Bolton Hospital<\/p>\n
Blackpool Victoria<\/p>\n
Royal Manchester Children\u2019s Hospital<\/p>\n
Alder Hey Children\u2019s Hospital<\/p>\n
The Walton Centre<\/p>\n
Leighton Hospital<\/p>\n
Warrington Hospital<\/p>\n
Preston and Chorley Hospitals<\/p>\n
Tameside General Hospital<\/p>\n
The Christie<\/p>\n
Royal Oldham Hospital<\/p>\n
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan<\/p>\n
\n The new data published by the NHS shows almost three quarters (71.9 per cent) of calls have been from families seeking help, with 720 calls leading to changes in care. This could include patients receiving a new medication such as an antibiotic.\n<\/p>\n
\n Almost 800 (794) calls led to clinical concerns such as medication or investigation delays being addressed. A further 1,030 calls helped to resolve communication and discharge planning issues.\n<\/p>\n
\n Martha\u2019s rule is a major patient safety initiative in hospitals encouraging patients, families and carers to speak to the care team if they notice changes in someone\u2019s condition.\n<\/p>\n
\n It also provides them with a way to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one\u2019s condition deteriorates – and are concerned this is not being responded to.\u00a0 Staff can themselves ask for a review from a different team if they are concerned the appropriate action is not being taken.\n<\/p>\n
\n Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, said: \u201cThere is no shadow of a doubt that Martha\u2019s Rule is having a transformative impact on the way hospitals are able to work with patients and families to address deterioration or concerns about care.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere has now been almost 5,000 calls made to the hotlines, with hundreds of potentially life-saving interventions triggered, which is why we are now expanding Martha\u2019s Rule to all acute hospitals in England.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI want to take this opportunity to thank Merope and Paul who have campaigned tirelessly on this issue and continue to work with us to ensure Martha\u2019s Rule is at the centre of our efforts to boost patient safety and quality of care.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI also want to thank clinical staff up and down the country who have swiftly implemented this potentially lifesaving intervention and ensured its success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New\u00a0data shows hundreds of patients have benefited from potentially lifesaving changes to their care thanks to its rollout.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-122927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}