143 Hospitals to Roll Out ‘Martha’s Rule’

A patient safety protocol called “Martha’s rule” will be tested in a total of 143 hospitals, NHS England said on Monday. Under the rule, patients and their families must have round-the-clock access to a critical care outreach team that can provide a second opinion when they are concerned a patient’s condition has deteriorated. Hospital staff will also have access to the system. Hospitals are also required to formally obtain information about a patient’s condition directly from their families at least daily. The rule was named after Martha Mills, a 13-year-old girl who died in 2021 after developing sepsis in hospital and after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to....