Martha’s Rule Call for Concern launch day

Members of the Critical Care Outreach Team will be visiting wards at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital to talk to patients, families and staff about an important new safety initiative that is being widely rolled out from today.

Marthas Rule team

Martha’s Rule Call for Concern, encourages people to raise concerns if they believe a loved one is deteriorating and their concerns have not been addressed when they’ve initially raised them with ward staff.

The initiative, developed following the death of teenager Martha Mills, was initially piloted at the hospital last November for step down patients who are discharged from the Integrated Critical Care Unit. The pilot was then extended to A12 (surgical) and C26 (medical) wards in January this year.

The wider rollout takes effect at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust from today – Monday 3 March – except for Maternity, Neonatal and the Emergency Department. It covers New Cross Hospital only.

Samantha Sewell, Matron – Critical Care Outreach Team, said: “This is such an important adult patient safety drive because it means patients and families can get an independent review if they feel their loved one’s condition is deteriorating and this has not been addressed after they’ve spoken to the ward Nurse or Doctor.

“They can then contact the dedicated Call for Concern phone number which is available 24 hours a day seven days a week specifically for this purpose.

“We have been promoting Martha’s Rule Call for Concern in the run up to today’s launch and urge as many people as possible to make themselves aware of it. We will be visiting wards and talking to everyone about it over the coming weeks and months and are proud to be supporting such a significant initiative that should reassure our patients, families, carers and advocates.”

The rule is named after Martha Mills who died aged 13 in 2021 from sepsis after her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not addressed. A coroner later concluded that Martha, who had been taken to hospital following a fall from her bike, would likely have survived if she had been moved to intensive care earlier as her condition deteriorated.

The dedicated Call for Concern number is not for general concerns that can be addressed by ward staff.