More than 1,000 NHS staff across England have used Martha’s Rule helplines to help identify rapid deterioration of a patient’s condition in the first 18 months of the scheme.
More than 1,000 NHS staff across England have used Martha’s Rule helplines to help identify rapid deterioration of a patient’s condition in the first 18 months of the scheme.
Martha’s Rule was introduced following the tragic death of 13-year-old Martha Mills from sepsis in 2021. The rule allows patients, carers, families, or NHS staff to request an independent review when there are concerns that a patient’s condition is deteriorating or that care has not met expected safety standards. Its aim is to ensure that concerns are escalated promptly and acted upon before serious harm occurs.
Latest NHS England data shows that between September 2024 and February this year, 1,781 calls were made by hospital staff to Martha’s Rule helplines at their trusts to trigger a rapid review of care, as the health service continues to transform its culture to improve safety.
Of these calls from staff, 1,080 (61%) helped identify acute deterioration of a patient’s condition.
“It’s really encouraging that more than 1,000 staff have used Martha’s Rule to help flag rapid deterioration in patients as we continue to roll out this lifesaving scheme,” said Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety at NHS England.
“We know that when concerns are raised, hospital teams are ready to respond, so it’s important that as many people as possible are aware of Martha’s Rule, and hospitals are making it clear and straightforward for patients and families to seek a potentially lifesaving review of care,” he added.
Deprived groups
The data also shows that, of the calls found to relate to acute deterioration, the greatest proportion were regarding patients belonging to the most deprived groups (26.1%), with the lowest number of calls (14.5%) regarding patients belonging to the least deprived groups.
Another report published and funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Quality, Safety and Outcomes for Health and Social Care – looked in-depth at three early-adopting hospital sites between November 2024 and February this year.
It identified how the NHS could address some of the challenges around awareness and future take-up of the scheme as it is rolled out across all hospitals. It also highlighted the need to address barriers in access for some groups who may be most in need of Martha’s Rule, such as people who are isolated, young people without a guardian, older adults, people with cognitive impairments, disabilities or poor literacy and people from lower socio-economic groups. Barriers were also identified in people who experience language challenges and in people from ethnic minority groups.
“Evaluations such as this are vital to ensure lifesaving initiatives like Martha’s Rule work effectively for everyone – the insight produced will underpin any move from pilot phase to a robust, national standard,” said NIHR chief executive and Department of Health and Social Care chief scientific adviser Lucy Chappell.
