Martha’s Rule for Adults and Paediatrics

If you have serious concerns that your health condition or a relative’s/friend’s health condition is worsening and is not being adequately addressed by their healthcare team, contact our Martha's Rule Service team.

Martha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring the concerns of patients, families, carers and staff are listened to and acted upon.

It has been developed in response to the death of Martha Mills and other cases related to the management of deterioration. Central to Martha’s Rule is the right for patients, families and carers to request a rapid review if they are worried that a patient’s condition is getting worse and their concerns are not being responded to.

Are you concerned about your own or a loved one’s deteriorating health condition?

We know that friends and family can often notice a patient’s deterioration first. They will know what signs to look out for and can often spot when something is out of the ordinary.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to the Martha’s Rule Service to escalate and discuss your worries regarding your own or a loved one’s deteriorating health condition. Martha’s Rule now gives this access to patients and families for the first time – enabling them to escalate care concerns if necessary.

The Martha’s Rule service is available for your baby, child or young person too, if you are worried about your child’s health or you feel that your issues have not been fully addressed, and you believe your child is becoming more unwell you can contact us, we encourage to you to contact us if you are worried.

Follow these steps to make a Martha’s Rule call:

  • Step 1 – Ask to speak to the Nurse in Charge of the ward and the ward Doctor.
  • Step 2 – If you are still worried after advice from the ward team, ring the Martha’s Rule Service on 01279 973938 anytime.
  • Step 3 – The Martha’s Rule Specialist Clinical Team will review the situation and provide support.
Information:

Call 01279 973938 to activate a Martha’s Rule call. There is the option to leave a voicemail message, if we are unable to answer your call please leave a voicemail and we will return your call as soon as we are able to.

Our Martha’s Rule Specialist Clinical Team will review the clinical situation and then take appropriate action.

Martha’s Rule actively encourages patients, families and carers to tell staff if they are worried a health condition is getting worse. They may notice small changes that could be early warning signs of deterioration before they show up in routine measurements.
If, after speaking to the care team, they remain worried and feel their concerns are not being addressed, Martha’s Rule means that they can call a dedicated number to request a rapid review from a different team

Patients, relatives, carers and advocates in paediatric and adult inpatient areas. This service is also available for staff members who can also use the Martha’s Rule Service to escalate patients if they feel they are not being listened too.

The Martha’s Rule Service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Martha’s Rule Service is a patient safety initiative. Please do not call us to report problems with hospital beds, rooms, food, parking, or any other general issues.

If you have these problems, please speak to the ward nurse or ward manager, to discuss these issues. If your issues are not being resolved please contact our patient experience team on 01279 827211 or email [email protected].

Martha’s Rule Service will take your call and assess how best to help you or your loved one. They will decide on the best course of action to try to resolve your issues or worries regarding deterioration.

This may involve:

  • asking your or your loved one’s healthcare team to visit you on the ward to perform an assessment
  • a visit from the Martha’s Rule specialist clinical team (experienced clinical practitioners specialising in reviewing and assessing unwell adult patients) to assess your or your loved one’s current state of health (if required).
  • Direct you to the appropriate person/team who can provide the help and support you require

Someone from the team will update you and inform you of plans and follow up with you and check that you are happy with the course of action taken and that your concerns have been adequately addressed.

At the moment, our Martha’s Rule Service is available in Adult inpatient wards and ED, Paediatric inpatient wards and ED. We are working on the service being available in maternity and neonates by the end of April 2027.

Please do not feel concerned that using this system will negatively affect your/the patient’s care in any way. We recognise that sometimes the patient or a close loved one can see that something is wrong. No one knows your health care needs better than you and your family.

You can find out more about Martha’s Rule here.

When you contact the Martha’s Rule Service, they will need to know:

  • The patient’s name and ideally their date of birth
  • The ward they are on
  • A brief description of the problem, and what has already been done about it
  • Your contact details and relationship to the patient

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