Patients 'already saved' in pilots of Martha's Rule safety scheme
The scheme is named after Martha Mills, a teenager who died in hospital from sepsis after a hospital failed to heed her parents' concerns about her worsening state.
NHS England (NHSE) published details of the initial impact of Martha's Rule - the scheme being piloted in trusts to allow patients or relatives to trigger urgent clinical care reviews.
NHSE said:
- Out of the 143 hospitals piloting Martha's Rule, 87 had implemented an escalation process that could be triggered by patients or families and 92 had partly or fully introduced an escalation process for staff.
- Patients, relatives, carers or staff made at least 573 calls about a patient’s condition deteriorating in September and October, according to data received by 136 sites.
-
Around half of the calls led to a clinical review, and of these, 14 resulted in patients being urgently transferred to intensive care. One in five of the clinically reviewed calls led to other changes in care, such as receiving potentially life-saving antibiotics, oxygen or other treatment – while remaining on their current wards.
