The NHS has announced that The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been selected as one of 16 hospital sites in the East of England to test and roll out Martha’s Rule by March 2025.
The purpose of Martha’s Rule is to provide a consistent and understandable way for patients and families to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one’s condition deteriorates, and they are concerned this is not being responded to.
In Norfolk, The QEH alongside James Paget and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, will be among the first sites to test implementation of Martha’s Rule, It is the next step in a major patient safety initiative, following the announcement in February of NHS England funding for this financial year.
Evaluation of how the system works over the course of this year will inform proposals for Martha’s Rule to be expanded further across all NHS 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.
Merope Mills and Paul Laity, Martha’s parents, said: “We are pleased that the roll-out of Martha’s Rule is off to a flying start and that the need for it has been 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.”
Dr Edward Morris, Medical Director for the NHS in the East of England, 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.”
Commenting on The QEH involvement, Medical Director Rebecca Martin said: “We are pleased to be selected as one of the first sites to participate in rolling out Martha’s Rule. Our clinical teams were very quick to respond to the opportunity to be involved and I know that it will provide reassurance to patients and elevate patient safety.”
What is Martha’s Rule
Martha’s Rule is to be made up of three components to ensure concerns about deterioration can be swiftly responded to.
Firstly, an escalation process will be available 24/7, 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.
Secondly, NHS staff will also have access to this same process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition.
Finally, alongside this, 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.
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