The NHS has today announced the 143 hospital sites that will test and roll out Martha’s Rule in its first year.

Twenty of these sites are in the South East

Confirmation of the first sites to test implementation of Martha’s Rule is the next step in a major patient safety initiative, following the announcement in February of NHS England funding for this financial year.

The initial target was to enrol at least 100 sites nationally, but due to significant interest from frontline clinicians this has been expanded, meaning this first phase of the programme will be in place at 143 locations across the country by March 2025.

Evaluation of how the system works in these sites over the course of this year will inform proposals for Martha’s Rule to be expanded further across all acute hospitals, subject to future government funding.

The purpose of Martha’s Rule is to provide a consistent and understandable way for patients and families to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one’s condition deteriorates and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

The scheme is named after thirteen-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis having been treated at King’s College Hospital, London, in 2021, due to a failure to escalate her to intensive care, and after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to.

NHS England is working with Martha’s parents to develop materials to advertise and explain the initiative in hospitals across the country, to ensure it is something that all patients, staff, and their families can recognise.

Martha’s Rule is to be made up of three components to ensure concerns about deterioration can be swiftly responded to.

Firstly, an escalation process will be available 24/7, advertised throughout the hospitals on posters and leaflets, enabling patients and families to contact a critical care outreach team that can swiftly assess a case and escalate care if necessary. Secondly, NHS staff will also have

access to this same process if they have concerns about a patient’s condition.

Finally, alongside this, clinicians at participating hospitals will also formally record daily insights and information about a patient’s health directly from their families, ensuring any concerning changes in behaviour or condition noticed by the people who know the patient best are considered by staff.

Extensive campaigning by her parents Merope and Paul, supported by the cross-party think tank Demos, saw widespread support for a single system that allows patients or their families to trigger an urgent clinical review from a different team in the hospital if the patient’s condition is rapidly worsening and they feel they are not getting the care they need.

Merope Mills and Paul Laity, Martha’s parents, said: “We are pleased that the roll-out of Martha’s Rule is off to a flying start and that the need for it has been so widely recognised.

“It will save lives and encourage better, more open, communication on hospital wards, so that patients feel they are listened to, and partners in their healthcare.”

South East Regional Medical Director Vaughan Lewis said: “Rolling out Martha’s Rule to twenty hospital sites across the South East represents one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years.”

“This is key milestone and will see this major patient safety initiative being rolled out across the whole of the South East region later this year, enabling staff, patients and families to raise their concerns in order to ensure patient deterioration is managed promptly.

“While the need for escalation of care will hopefully only be needed in a limited number of cases, this three-step safety net has the opportunity to transform patient care and safety and provide prompt intervention in the event of patient deterioration.”

Notes: The sites in the South East rolling out Martha’s Rule are:

 

Isle of Wight NHS Trust St Mary’s Hospital

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Frimley Park Hospital

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Wexham Park hospital site

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust Darent Valley Hospital

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust The Tunbridge Wells Hospital

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Maidstone Hospital

University Hospitals Southampton NHS FT Southampton Children’s Hospital

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Royal Berkshire Hospital

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Stoke Mandeville Hospital

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Conquest Hospital

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Eastbourne District General Hospital

University Hospitals Sussex NHS FT Royal Sussex County Hospital

University Hospitals Sussex NHS FT Princess Royal Hospital

Medway Maritime Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Medway Maritime Hospital

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust – EKHUFT William Harvey Hospital, Ashford

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust QEQM Hospital, Margate

Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust Queen Alexandra Hospital

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Basingstoke North Hampshire Hospital

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust East Surrey Hospital

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust Southampton General Hospital