Martha's Rule 'can save lives' as NHS patients win right to second opinion

Martha's Rule, a policy that allows patients and their loved ones to request a second medical opinion, early studies suggest.

In the first two months of the initiative, 14 individuals were transferred to intensive care units after either patients, their families or NHS staff sought a second opinion. Other patients have been moved to high-dependency units, coronary care units, and some have received other forms of care, such as returning to operating theatres.

Merope Mills, whose daughter Martha tragically passed away from sepsis in 2021, is advocating for the scheme to be implemented nationally. So far, 143 hospitals have joined the initiative. The escalation process empowers patients and their families to seek a second opinion if they feel the patient's condition is worsening and their concerns are not being addressed.

An urgent clinical review is then conducted by a separate team within the hospital. According to NHS England, one in five of the 573 calls made in September and October expressing concerns about a patient's deteriorating condition resulted in a change in the patient's care.

This could involve administering potentially life-saving antibiotics, oxygen, or other treatments. Approximately half of the calls necessitated a "clinical review for acute deterioration", as per NHS England data.

Family members made the majority of the calls, accounting for 76%, with 15% made by the patients themselves. NHS staff made around 9% of the calls.

Martha Mills, aged 13, tragically died from sepsis in 2021, following a fall from her bike which resulted in a pancreatic injury. Martha's parents, Ms Mills and Paul Laity, repeatedly raised concerns about their daughter's health, but felt their warnings went ignored.

A coroner's inquiry concluded that Martha's life could have likely been saved had medical staff recognised the severity of her condition sooner and moved her to intensive care in time.

On speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Mills described the campaign for a new alert system as "exhausting".

She said: "Losing a loved one in a preventable way compounds your grief and your devastation. But if nobody learns from it, nothing changes, it makes you feel as if their life meant nothing to the people who let them down."

The effort put into establishing 'Martha’s Rule', despite being taxing, has brought some consolation by showing willingness to learn from Martha's death. Ms Mills also addressed the criticism faced in implementing the initiative, saying, "There were definitely sceptics. There were definitely people who said if you give patients this kind of power, this kind of phone number to call, they’ll call it for the wrong reason – they’ll be complaining about food, they’ll be wanting a cup of tea, they’ll say they have lost something."

Nevertheless, 'Martha’s Rule’ has been piloted across 143 hospitals, and Ms Mills reported initial evidence debunking the skeptics' concerns: "We’ve now had Martha’s Rule trialled in 143 hospitals around the country, and we have the first clear evidence that that is not the case.

"In two months of data that we have, we’ve had over 500 calls to a Martha’s Rule number – that’s not an overwhelming number of calls for that number of hospitals, which is good. It means that the system can cope."

"And as many as half of those calls merited a critical care review by staff."