Martha’s rule: What could the proposed changes mean for doctors? (BMJ, 8 September 2023)

Summary

On 4 September 2023, England’s health and social care secretary Steve Barclay announced that the government was considering introducing 'Martha’s rule', requiring NHS hospitals to give quick access to a second clinical opinion in urgent cases. In this article, Clare Dyer of the BMJ looks at how the introduction of a formal system to allow patients or families the right to demand an urgent second opinion will affect doctors.