The first phase of the programme is due to be rolled out in hospitals across the UK by March 2025.
The NHS has announced that it will roll out Martha’s Rules to 143 hospitals across England by March 2025, and test its implementation as part of a major patient safety initiative.
The scheme is named after Martha Mills, who died in 2021 at the age of 13 from sepsis after her family’s concerns about her condition were not met and there were delays in getting her into intensive care.
The purpose of Martha’s Rule is to provide a consistent and easy-to-understand way for patients and families to seek urgent testing if they are concerned that their or a loved one’s condition is worsening and is not being addressed.
The rules have three components. Firstly, an escalation process will be available 24/7, allowing patients and families to contact the critical care outreach team to escalate care if necessary. NHS staff will have access to this same escalation process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition. Finally, participating clinicians will formally record daily insights and information about patient health directly from patients’ families, to ensure no changes in behaviour or condition go unnoticed.
The initial goal was to enroll at least 100 facilities across the country to implement the new rules, but that goal was expanded due to increased interest from frontline clinicians.
Furthermore, the system will be evaluated in these facilities later this year and will inform proposals to further extend Martha’s rules to all acute hospitals, subject to future government funding.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS, said: “This first phase of rolling out Martha’s Rules to more than 143 NHS sites will be one of the most significant changes to patient care in recent years.”
“This large-scale patient safety initiative will enable staff, patients and families to raise concerns immediately and encourage enhanced care in an easily recognisable and rapid way,” Powis added.
