Overview
In September 2024, we introduced a new patient safety service at the Trust called Call for Concern (Martha’s Rule).
Martha’s Rule is a national patient safety initiative which gives patients and families access to an urgent review from our Critical Care Outreach Team (CCORT) if they are worried that the inpatient’s condition is getting worse.
Useful Links & Information
Here at DGT, we have multiple clinical mechanisms to recognise when a patient’s condition is worsening. However as a patient’s loved one, you may be able to spot when things aren’t quite right. If you have concerns that your friend or family member is deteriorating please:
- Inform the nurse looking after them
- Ask to speak to a doctor on the ward
- Ask to speak to the nurse in charge
If you still feel concerned, please call 01322428652 to be put through to the Senior Site team Nurse 24/7 for a rapid review. When your call is received, we will need to know:
- Your Relative/Friends name (must be an inpatient at DVH)
- Ward they are on
- Nature of your concern
- Your relationship to the inpatient and contact details
All telephone calls to this number will be assessed and the appropriate team will be informed. Where there is a clinical concern, a doctor or nurse from our Critical Care Outreach Team will review the patient on the ward to ensure they are receiving suitable treatment and support.
The Call for Concern is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and applies to adult and paediatric inpatients. (Note: this will expand to both Maternity and the Emergency Department in early 2026)
The team may be on other calls, so if the phone line is not answered immediately, please leave your details as stated above and you will receive a call back as soon as possible.
The CCORT are a team of critical care doctors and nurses specialising in the care of very unwell patients and patients recovering from critical illness.
The CCOT are a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week service.
Martha’s Rule allows friends and family of a patient who is in hospital to seek an urgent review if the condition of a loved one is deteriorating. It is NOT a rapid assessment of a patient's diagnosis or non-clinical concerns.
Non-clinical concerns should be addressed through the Ward Staff or Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Telephone: 01322 428382 Email: dgn-tr.PALS@nhs.net
Martha Mills died in 2021 after developing sepsis whilst being treated at a London hospital site, where she had been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike.
During her stay, Martha’s family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition were not responded to when they felt their daughter continued to deteriorate despite medical management. In 2023, a coroner ruled that Martha would possibly have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier.
In response to this, campaigning from Martha’s parents, and other cases related to the management of deterioration, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England agreed to implement ‘Martha’s Rule’, which is designed to ensure the vitally important concerns of patients, and those who know the patient best, are listened to and acted upon.