Queen Victoria Hospital to roll out Martha’s Rule patient safety initiative

Queen Victoria Hospital has been announced as part of the continued roll out of Martha’s Rule, a nation-wide patient safety initiative.

Martha’s Rule encourages families, carers and patients to speak up if they notice changes in a patient’s condition and to seek an urgent review from a critical care team if the patient is deteriorating and their concerns are not being listened to.

It is named after Martha Mills and news of Martha’s Rule expanding to all NHS acute hospitals was made on what would have been her 18th birthday. Sadly Martha died from sepsis when she was 13 after her family’s concerns were not listened to.

Queen Victoria Hospital has already been running Call 4 Concern since 2024, a scheme similar to Martha’s Rule, which encourages patients, families and carers to call for help and advice if they are concerned that there is a noticeable change or deterioration in condition.

The 3 core components of Martha’s Rule are:

• Patients will be asked, at least daily, about how they are feeling, and if they are getting better or worse, and this information will be acted on in a structured way.
• All staff will be able, at any time, to ask for a review from a different team if they are concerned that a patient is deteriorating, and they are not being responded to.
• This escalation route will also always be available to patients themselves, their families and carers and advertised across the hospital.

Under the scheme, clinicians also record daily insights about a patient’s health directly from families.

Edmund Tabay, Chief Nursing Office at Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to patient safety, we are proud to be part of the second cohort of Martha’s Rule. It is important families feel empowered and know they have a voice and their concerns will always be taken seriously.”

Queen Victoria Hospital will roll out Martha’s Rule over the coming months.

For more information please email the QVH Press Office at qvh.communications@nhs.net