Martha's Rule

Martha's Rule: Introduction

From November 2024, the Trust will be introducing a new patient safety initiative called ‘Call For Concern’ as part of Martha’s Rule.

Martha’s Rule is a national patient safety initiative which gives patients and families access to an urgent review from our Critical Care Outreach Team if they are worried that a condition is worsening.

North West Anglia Foundation Trust is part of the first 143 hospitals in England to implement Martha’s Rule as part of the first phase of the programme.   

Martha's Rule: What does this mean?

From 4 November 2024, inpatients and/or their loved ones can call the below numbers to ask for a rapid review if they are worried an inpatient's condition is getting worse.

In the first instance please ensure you speak to the ward nurse or doctor.

If after this, there are still worries about symptoms or there is a concern the healthcare team is not recognising them, then call the Critical Care Outreach Team, which runs the ‘Call For Concern’ service for a review.

The service is for both adult and child inpatients at Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough City hospitals.

To raise a ‘Call For Concern’ you can contact the team on the following numbers:

·         07889 159323 (Peterborough City Hospital)

·         07889 159124 (Hinchingbrooke Hospital)

From there the team will ask for the following information to assist with a review:

·         The patient’s name

·         The ward they are on

·         A brief description of the problem and what has already happened

·         Your contact details and relationship to the patient

·         Preferred language to communicate with (such as English, Polish, Portuguese, or British Sign Language)

From receiving a call, the Critical Care Outreach team will assess the situation to determine the next steps and will be in contact regarding any outcomes following the review.

Who are the Critical Care Outreach Team (CCOT)?

The Critical Care Outreach Team are a team of highly experienced clinical staff who specialise in the care of very unwell patients, and patients recovering from critical illness.

They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at both Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough City Hospitals.

Martha’s Rule and Martha Mills  

Martha Mills passed away in 2021 after developing Sepsis while being treated at King's College Hospital, London. It was found that there had been a failure to promptly escalate Martha to intensive care and had her family's concerns about her deteriorating condition been addressed sooner, Martha would likely have survived. In response to this, and after extensive campaigning from Martha's parents Merope and Paul, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England agreed to implement 'Martha's Rule'. This rule is designed to ensure that the crucial concerns of patients, as well as those who know the patient best, are listened to and acted upon.