Thousands have sought second opinion after NHS hospitals adopted Martha’s rule, MPs hear

Thousands of patients or their loved ones have sought a second opinion about their NHS care as result of hospitals adopting Martha’s rule, MPs have heard.

This includes more than 100 patients taken to intensive care “or equivalent” since the patient safety procedure was introduced in many parts of the NHS in England last April, the Commons health and social care committee heard on Wednesday.

The patient safety commissioner for England, Dr Henrietta Hughes, told MPs that Martha’s rule was “improving safety” and “reducing harm”.

Families have described how the lives of loved ones have been saved by the scheme, named after Martha Mills, who died in 2021 aged 13. It gives patients and their loved ones the right to request an urgent review of the person receiving hospital treatment, which triggers their care being looked at by a team of specialists, who offer a second opinion.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the initiative “is already one of the most significant changes in patient safety in recent years, with hundreds of calls leading to improvements in patient care – and undoubtedly lives saved”.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 26 March 2025