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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024

Martha Mills Merope Mills NHS Paul Laity England Wes Streeting
Martha Mills smiling by a lake before her death in 2021.
Martha Mills died aged 13 in 2021 after her family’s concerns that she was deteriorating went unheeded by staff. Photograph: Mills/Laity family photograph/PA

More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.

They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024.

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