Martha's Rule: over 400 patients may have been saved in first 16 months - according to latest figures
Between September 2024 and December 2025, there were over 10,000 calls made to Martha’s Rule helplines 🏥
- More than 10,000 calls have been made to Martha’s Rule helplines in 16 months.
- Over 400 patients have received potentially life-saving interventions.
- Martha’s Rule is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis in 2021.
Martha’s Rule may have helped save over 400 lives, according to new figures from NHS England.
Between September 2024 and December 2025, there were over 10,000 calls (10,119) made to the helplines in the first 16 months of the scheme, with one in three calls (3,457) made by patients, families or staff, identifying a patient’s condition rapidly getting worse.
This led to thousands of patients (1,885) receiving changes to their treatment, including 446 potentially life-saving interventions, with all adult and paediatric acute inpatient sites in the NHS across England now in the process of implementing the scheme.
Calls have more than doubled since June last year (4,911), with 6,000 addressing clinical, communication, or coordination concerns, leading to “meaningful improvements” in care or system navigation for patients and their families.
Martha’s Rule is named after Martha Mills. In 2021, aged just 13-years-old, she died from sepsis after suffering a pancreatic injury when she fell off her bike. Concerns about her deteriorating condition raised by her family were not responded to, with a coroner in 2023 ruling that she probably would have survived if she had been moved to intensive care earlier.
Martha’s mum Merope Mills said: “The more data that is gathered, the clearer it becomes that Martha’s Rule is having a hugely positive effect. Apart from the lives saved, over a third of the calls have led to a marked improvement in care.
“The process is not being overused and has obviously met a need, giving patients and families real agency. We look forward to its thorough implementation in maternity departments and call for its rapid introduction in Wales and Scotland.”
What is Martha’s Rule?
Martha’s Rule is named after Martha Mills, who died in 2021, aged 13, after developing sepsis. She had been admitted to the hospital with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike.
Her family’s concerns about her deteriorating health condition were not addressed, and in 2023, a coroner ruled that Martha would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier.
The scheme encourages patients, their families and carers the right to ask for an urgent review from a different medical team if they are concerned their loved one’s condition is deteriorating, and the appropriate action is not being taken.
Dr Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety at NHS England, said: “Martha’s Rule is already helping to save lives and transform the culture of the NHS – with 10,000 calls made to the helplines in just over a year and over four hundred potentially life-saving interventions triggered.
“These figures show that Merope and Paul’s tireless campaigning and the hard work of staff are helping the NHS listen to families more effectively and show that when concerns are raised, hospital teams are ready to respond.”
How to contact your hospital’s Martha’s Rule scheme
There is no single contact number for Martha’s Rule; each hospital has its own dedicated phone number for patients, families and staff to call. To find out the number for your hospital, this should be available on the hospital website, on posters around the hospital outlining Martha’s Rule or from a member of staff.
You can find out more information about Martha’s Rule and where to call if you need to access the scheme at NHS.UK.