More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, a patient safety mechanism that gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health. In the 18 months between September 2024 and February 2026, a total of 524 adults and children were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one, or a member of NHS staff triggered the rule by calling a helpline and asking for a “rapid review” of their care.

Martha’s rule is named after Martha Mills, who died aged 13 in 2021 after her family’s concerns that she was deteriorating went unheeded by staff at King’s College hospital in London. After an inquest a year later, the coroner ruled that Martha would probably have survived if doctors had spotted sooner that she was suffering from sepsis. Her parents, Merope Mills and Paul Laity, campaigned to persuade ministers, NHS leaders, and doctors to implement the right to a review by a different team from the one treating the patient.

NHS England’s latest data shows that 12,301 calls were made to Martha’s rule helplines during those 18 months. About one in three - 4,047 - helped identify a patient whose health was getting worse. Three-quarters of those calls (2,967) were made by patients or their carers, while hospital staff made the other 1,080. Mills and Laity said it was “hugely encouraging” that 1,000 clinically trained staff had sought a review, calling it “clear evidence that issues such as hierarchy, poor communication and some doctors’ resistance to being challenged affect hospital care every day.”

An interim review published on Friday found that 32% of the public were aware of the initiative, though those who have been through higher education were four times more likely to have heard of it. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the figures prove that Martha’s rule is “already having a life-saving impact.” Paul Whiteing, chief executive of the patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents, noted: “Too often the people we support still tell us about the culture of defend and deny that they face when they ask questions or raise concerns about their treatment. If this rule is challenging that culture, then its use must be expanded as soon as is possible.”