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Following on from our article a few months ago regarding ‘Martha’s Rule’ (named after Martha Mills who sadly died in 2021 at the age of 13, due to a failure to identify and treat sepsis) the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has confirmed it has adopted Martha’s Rule and has introduced the “Call for Concern Service” as of this week.

Once fully implemented Martha’s Rule will give patients, carers, and staff round-the-clock access to a rapid review of the treatment a patient is being provided with if they are worried about a person’s condition. The service will be run (via a dedicated telephone number) by a “recognise and respond” team of nurses specialising in the care of patients who are very ill or recovering from critical illness.  

It is hoped that Martha’s Rule (which is the latest in a series of measures the NHS has recently introduced to improve the way it identifies and documents any decline in a patient’s condition) will provide patients with the best possible care by a review process being undertaken (if and where necessary) by doctors and nurses not involved in the medical team treating them.

Whilst the Service will initially apply to all adult in-patients, there are plans to further expand the service over the next 12 months to cover paediatrics, maternity, emergency, and outpatient services.

The James Paget Hospital adopted Martha’s Rule in April this year and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn adopted Call for Concern last year with plans to eventually expand it to include paediatrics.

Full details of Martha's Rule is set out in our previous article here.

If you would like advice regarding a medical negligence claim, our specialist Personal Injury & Medical Negligence Team would be happy to assist, please contact the team on 01603 610911 or email info@leathesprior.co.uk.