Martha's rule: Call for right to second opinion after tragic teen death
The parents of a teenager who died in hospital two years ago are calling for patients to be given the right to an urgent second opinion, if they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff.
Martha Mills, who would have been 16 on Monday, died after failures in treating her sepsis at King's College Hospital. An inquest said she could have survived had her care been better.
Martha's mother, Merope, has helped the think tank Demos write a report which is calling on NHS England to urgently put in place Martha's rule.
This would "effectively formalise the idea of asking for a second opinion, from a different team outside the team currently looking after you if you feel you are not being listened to", she said.
She added that asking for a second opinion when there is a deterioration "shouldn't be a problem and it shouldn't involve confrontation".
It might be that a patient or family could escalate to another team over the phone to get an urgent critical care review.
Source: BBC News, 4 September 2023