Martha's Rule

You know yourself or your loved one better than anyone. If you’re worried about a health condition getting worse, talk to us.

We have implemented  ‘Martha’s Rule’ across our hospitals.

Martha’s Rule, also known as Call for Concern, is a key patient safety initiative to ensure patients, families, carers and staff’s concerns about a worsening health condition are listened to. This can help detect deterioration early, so action can be taken to prevent more serious health problems.

What does this mean in practice?

Martha's Rule allows inpatients or their loved ones to directly report a decline in their condition that has been reported but not addressed by healthcare staff on the ward.

If you have noticed a decline in your or your loved one’s condition, you should always report this immediately to the healthcare staff on the ward as the first step.

This is different to a second opinion, which is when you would like to see another consultant to talk about any diagnosis or treatment.

Please tell a nurse or doctor if you’re worried about changes such as:

• Changes in temperature – hot or cold to the touch
• Worsening pain
• Low energy, drowsy or sleepy
• Levels of hydration
• Any changes to the skin (eg rash)
• Changes in breathing
• New confusion
• Anything else that worries you

If after speaking to healthcare staff on the ward, you feel that your concerns have not been properly addressed, you can contact our Critical Care Outreach team, a team of doctors and nurses who specialise in the care of very unwell patients and those recovering from critical illness.

Contact the team by calling:

Queen’s Hospital: 01708 435 000, ext 6748

King George Hospital: 01708 435 000, ask the operator to bleep 8513

When we receive your call we will need to know:

• the inpatient’s name
• the name of the ward
• a brief description of your concern
• your relationship to the inpatient and contact details

All calls to this number will be assessed and, where appropriate, a doctor or nurse from our Critical Care Outreach team will visit the patient on the ward to ensure they’re receiving suitable treatment and support.

The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and applies to adult and children who are inpatients at King George and Queen’s hospitals.