Martha’s Rule & Call for Concern

Martha’s Rule

NHS England recently endorsed that all patients, carers, family members and staff have round the clock access to a rapid review from a separate care team if they are worried about a person’s condition. As a Trust, we are actively collaborating with NHS England to implement a standardised approach that prioritises patient safety as part of Martha’s Rule Pilot.

Martha Mills was 13 when she died in 2021 from sepsis that she developed while being treated in hospital for a pancreatic injury following an accident on her bike. Martha’s families concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to. A coroner declared in 2023 that Martha most likely would have survived if she had been admitted to intensive care sooner.

Providing an independent, fresh clinical perspective through Call for Concern^©

As part of our commitment to providing safe, compassionate and joined-up care to all our patients and our local populations, we have adopted Call for Concern^©.  

This enables our patients, relatives and carers to quickly and easily contact our Acute Intervention Team for immediate help or advice when they are concerned about a patient's condition.

We recognise that sometimes patients, relatives and carers can tell when something is wrong and, in the first instance, any concerns should be raised with the ward team, however, if, having done this, their worries continue, they will now have the option to make a Call for Concern^©.

Having spoken to the patient, their relative or carer, the Acute Intervention Team practitioner will prioritise the urgency of the concern and, where appropriate, visit the patient on the ward to discuss the concerns and assess them, if necessary.  

Call for Concern^© is available at our three main sites; University Hospital of North Durham, Darlington Memorial Hospital and Bishop Auckland.

The Acute Intervention Team already works closely with ward teams and are independent from the daily care patients receive. They provide a fresh, independent, clinical perspective and through Call for Concern^©, they're supporting busy clinical teams by liaising directly with the patient, and their family where relevant, addressing the specific clinical issues raised.

There will be times when the Acute Intervention Practitioner may be with another patient, therefore not immediately available. They will return calls as soon as possible.  

There's a leaflet explaining when Call for Concern^© might be useful. It also details the kind of issues it doesn't cover, such as car parking, hospital food, cleanliness, visiting times etc. These concerns should be directed to our Patient Experience Team.