Martha’s Rule: a right to a second opinion to be granted in hospitals

Today comes a new announcement that from April 2024, ‘Marthas Rule’ is to be rolled out nationally across 100 English Hospitals.

Martha’s rule will allow patients and their loved ones to obtain a review of their condition and treatment, directly from a doctor or nurse who has not previously been involved in their care. From April, patients will be granted 24/7 access to a critical care team who are independent from their care and specialise in deteriorating health.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive, said: “While the need for escalation will hopefully only be needed in a small number of cases, I have no doubt that the introduction of Martha’s rule has the potential to save many lives in the future.”

Martha’s rule comes as a consequence of 13 year old Martha sadly passing away from untreated sepsis in 2021. Martha had sustained an injury to her pancreas when she fell off her bike on a summer holiday. Her parents’ concerns, including the possibility of Martha having sepsis, were ignored by doctors. Martha’s inquest found that had she been moved to the intensive care unit sooner, she would have probably survived.

Sepsis is a major cause of avoidable death, within the UK. An estimated 40,000 individuals die from sepsis each year.

Martha’s mum and dad commented, “we believe Martha’s rule will save lives. In cases of deterioration, families and carers by the bedside can be aware of changes busy clinicians can’t. Their knowledge should be treated as a resource.”

At Jordans we believe this is an imperative change to the landscape of hospital care concerning patients with deteriorating health. We know that doctors unfortunately can make the wrong decisions and their judgments are not always infallible.  We welcome Marthas Rule as an initiative to empower patients and provide a sense of self-determination in relation to their hospital care.