Ministers are considering introducing Martha’s rule in England to make it easier for patients and their families who believe their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff to get a second medical opinion.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said a similar measure enforced in Australia had been shown to have saved lives. He said officials had been tasked with looking into such initiatives could “improve patient safety here in the UK”.
The intervention came after the parents of a girl who died when doctors failed to admit her to intensive care called for changes named in her memory. Martha Mills, who would have been 16 on Monday, died after developing sepsis while under the care of King’s College hospital NHS foundation trust in south London.
A coroner ruled last year the 13-year-old would most probably have survived if doctors had identified the warning signs and transferred her to intensive care earlier.
Martha was being looked after at King’s after sustaining a pancreatic injury after falling from her bike while on a family holiday in Wales. King’s is a specialist national referral centre for children with pancreatic problems.
An inquest heard there were several opportunities to refer Martha to intensive care but this did not happen. The trust has since apologised for mistakes in Martha’s care.
Martha’s mother, Merope Mills – an editor at the Guardian – said she and her husband, Paul Laity, had raised concerns about Martha’s deteriorating health a number of times but these were not acted upon.
At one point, Martha began to bleed heavily through a tube inserted into her upper arm and through a drainage tube.
She also developed a rash, with her mother voicing her concerns to staff that Martha would go into septic shock over a bank holiday weekend.
The couple are calling for Martha’s rule to be put in place so that patients, families and care workers will be able to easily request a second opinion from a senior doctor in the same hospital in the event of a suspected deterioration or serious concern.
Barclay told the House of Commons that a similar measure, called Ryan’s rule, had been introduced in Queensland. It was named after Ryan Saunders, who died in 2007 from an undiagnosed streptococcal infection, which led to toxic shock syndrome. When Ryan’s parents were worried he was getting worse, they did not feel their concerns were acted on in time.
Barclay said it was “a three-step process that allows patients or their families to review a clinical review of their case from a doctor or a nurse if their condition is deteriorating or not improving as expected”.
The move had “saved lives in Queensland”, he said, adding: “I’ve asked my department and the NHS to look into whether similar measures could improve patient safety here in the UK.”
Mills has advocated for a similar approach to be introduced. She said: “If a patient and family escalation system such as ‘Martha’s rule’ had existed – and had been clearly advertised around the hospital with posters and stickers – I’m sure I would have used it and it could well have saved Martha’s life.
“Where such systems exist they are used appropriately and effectively – which is why we’d like to see Martha’s rule introduced across the NHS.”
An NHS England spokesperson said: “All patients and families are able to seek a second opinion if they have concerns about their care – and, as professional guidance for doctors in England sets out, it is essential that any patient’s wishes to seek a second opinion are respected.”
A spokesperson at King’s said the trust remains “deeply sorry that we failed Martha when she needed us most”.
In a statement, the trust said clinical improvements had been made after Martha’s death. These included mandatory sepsis training for all clinical staff in paediatrics, a new team reviewing any seriously unwell children and formal documentation of any parental concerns.
The spokesperson added: “These are just some of the measures we have put in place and our teams will continue to do everything they can to improve the care we provide as a result of learnings from Martha’s sad death.”
