NHS England rolls out 'Martha's rule' allowing patients and families to get 'urgent second opinion' if health deteriorates
Patients and families will be able to seek an urgent second opinion if they are concerned about the care their loved ones receive in all English hospitals delivering acute or short-term treatment.
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Martha’s Rule is set to be rolled out across England after a successful campaign driven by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died after serious failings in her care.
The scheme, a telephone helpline, has been piloted in 143 hospital sites in England since April 2024.
Since then, there have been nearly 5,000 calls, leading to 241 potentially life-saving interventions, NHS figures have revealed.
Nearly three-quarters of the 4,096 calls came from parents seeking help, the data showed.
Merope Mills, Martha's mother, has hailed the expansion, which comes on what would have been her daughter's 18th birthday.
However, she has called for the scheme to apply to the whole of the UK.
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Martha Mills, who died aged 13 of sepsis in King's College Hospital in south London in 2021. She developed sepsis in hospital, and her parents begged for more urgent care, but were dismissed.
An inquest found she would likely have lived if she had been moved faster to intensive care.
Martha’s parents Merope Mills and Paul Laity said: "It would be Martha’s 18th birthday today, another milestone she has missed as a result of the poor care and hospital errors that led to her unnecessary death.
"We feel her absence every day. But at least Martha’s rule is already preventing many families from experiencing something similar.
"The figures prove that lives are saved when patients and families are given power to act on their suspicions when they feel doctors might have got it wrong and their voice isn’t being heard."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Martha’s parents’ "tireless campaigning has created a lasting legacy that is already having a potentially life-saving impact across England".
Speaking to LBC in 2024, former Conservative Home Secretary Victoria Atkins described Martha’s Rule as a "really important step forward for patient safety".
"And particularly to help mums and dads and families and people who have loved ones in hospital get the very best care," she added.