The first King’s Mill Hospital patient to have their condition urgently reviewed under Martha’s Rule has described their experience as ‘amazing’

The hospital became one of the first in the UK to introduce Martha’s Rule, a national patient safety initiative which provides patients, their families and carers with access to an urgent review if they feel a patient’s condition is deteriorating and not being responded to quickly enough by staff.

Within 48 hours of it being launched in September 2024, Martha’s Rule was enacted for the first time by the partner of a patient called Tony Prout from New Ollerton, who had been in hospital for nine days.

Both Tony and his partner Karen Woods felt that they weren’t being listened to when it came to all of Tony’s complex medical needs.

Tony said: “I had lots of problems and was so upset and angry that I wanted to discharge myself. I rang my partner and asked her to pick me up.”

Instead, Karen rang the dedicated phone number 07385 115 574 to activate Martha’s Rule and spoke to the Critical Care Outreach Team.

Within an hour, a member of the team had been to speak to both Tony and Karen and reviewed his medical notes. They discussed the pair’s concerns with consultants, doctors and nurses, made suggestions to get specialist teams involved and a plan was agreed, which Tony and Karen were happy with. A follow-up took place the next day. 

Karen said: “Within 24 hours there was a complete turnaround and Tony’s complex needs had been addressed.

“Tony and I felt the result was an amazing development from making a phone call.

“Lack of communication is sometimes the key problem. Martha’s Rule empowers people to voice their concerns and worries.”

Since Martha’s Rule was introduced, there have been thirteen referrals made at King’s Mill Hospital. None of these related to a deterioration in a patient’s condition but were clinical concerns that really mattered to the patient and their loved ones. In each case, staff worked together to resolve issues, improve communication, and bridge a gap between patients and their families, and those treating them.

Shantell Miles, Director of Nursing at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “Martha’s Rule is about being able to hear the voices of our patients, their family, relatives, and friends. It’s crucial that all colleagues working across SFH are passionate about listening to the people who know our patients the best.

“The calls we’ve received so far, show that Martha’s Rule is working well. We believe that we’ve closed the gap and we should not have a deteriorating patient, and we’re doing all we can to provide the best care for our patients and experience for family members.”

King’s Mill Hospital was one of 143 hospital sites chosen to pilot the first phase of the major patient safety initiative - six months ahead of the deadline of March 2025.

Martha’s Rule applies to all in-patients, across all areas of the hospital including Maternity, Paediatrics and the Emergency Department (from the point when a decision is taken to admit the patient).

Patients, their families and carers should first raise any concerns with the teams who are caring for the patient but if they remain concerned they can call a dedicated phone number to activate Martha’s Rule and speak to the Critical Care Outreach Team who will listen to their concerns and act immediately to review the patient.

Thirteen-year-old Martha Mills died in 2021 after developing sepsis in hospital, following a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike. Martha’s family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to promptly and in 2023 the coroner ruled that Martha would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier.

Since then, her parents Merope and Paul Mills have campaigned extensively for a single system to allow patients and their families to activate an urgent clinical review from a different team in the hospital if they felt the patient’s condition was worsening.

In response to this and other cases related to the management of deterioration, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England committed to implement ‘Martha’s Rule’ – a patient safety initiative delivered as part of a wider NHS strategy.