Streeting moved to tears by mum's call for power for patients after teen's death
A Shadow Cabinet minister said he was moved to tears after hearing the heart-breaking story of a mum who is campaigning to change the law after her daughter's death. Martha Mills died in the summer of 2021, four days before her 14th birthday, after she contracted sepsis after a bike accident on holiday.
The concerns of her parents Merope and Paul were repeatedly ignored by doctors, with a report into her death later finding it could have been preventable. Now her mum is campaigning to create Martha's Rule, which would give patients and families' the right to a second opinion from other medics in the hospital.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting this morning responded to Merope's emotional story, which she shared on the BBC's Today programme yesterday. "Well, it's not often I cry listening to the Today programme, but I'm sure I wasn't the only Today listener moved to tears by the heart-breaking testimony about what Martha's family have been through as a result of a tragedy that might well have been avoided if the family had been listened to and if they had known their rights and I think that off the back of it, we've got to take action," he said.
Wes Streeting said he was 'optimistic the Government will do the right thing' (Getty Images)Mr Streeting said he found it "extraordinary" the reaction from the Government and the NHS appeared to be: "People already have a right to a second opinion." He went on: "What is the point of having a right if people aren't given the information and the ability to exercise their right?" He said Labour want Martha's Rule to be written into the NHS constitution. "It should be displayed right across the NHS estate, in cubicles in waiting rooms, so that people know what their rights are and they know how to exercise their rights. This is already happening in some hospitals and where it has been implemented, it is working. So if we know that it is working, where it's happening, why isn't it happening everywhere?"
Health Secretary Steve Barclay last night said he will consider calls for the introduction of Martha's Rule. He told the House of Commons: "We're exploring introducing Martha's Rule to the UK. Martha's Rule would be similar to the Queensland system called 'Ryan's Rule' - it's a three-step process that allows patients or their families to review a clinical review of their case from a doctor or a nurse if their condition is deteriorating or not improving as expected. Ryan's Rule has saved lives in Queensland and I've asked my department and the NHS to look into whether similar measures could improve patient safety here in the UK." Mr Streeting added that he was "optimistic the Government will do the right thing". "I know it's something they're now looking at. I hope that the government know that if they move on this before a general election, they will have our wholehearted and full throated support," he said.
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Meanwhile the top boss of NHS complaints supported calls for Martha's law. Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said: "I, along with many others, was moved and in great admiration for what Merope has said and done. And I give unambiguous support to the [think tank] Demos's proposal for Martha's rule. And it's very encouraging in difficult times to hear of cross-party support for this. My comment, in addition, would be that unfortunately, as tragic as this case is, it's not the first and there have been many cases where patients have been failed by their doctors because they haven't been listened to, where this could have benefited... So this is this is welcome and necessary, but it's not as as has been said, it's not a magic solution and there is a broader issue to be addressed." He added: "We know that roughly there are 11,000 avoidable deaths in the NHS each year. We know that NHS Resolution spends £2.7billion per year on settling cases around avoidable death and serious harm so this is a very big issue and a serious issue that needs to be addressed."
Some hospitals already implement similar schemes to Martha's Law, including the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. Alison Schofield, who's lead nurse for the Call for Concern programme, explained it works by giving patients and relatives "direct access to the critical care outreach team". "We're a team of nurses that are specialised in assessing and treating critically ill patients that could be children that could be adults. We have a phone number across the trust advertised and on the hospital intranet that they - patients and relatives and their friends - can ring us if they're concerned about clinical issues or deterioration and we will come and assess and review that patient," she said.
Asked if there had been concerns it might be overused or put too much demand on intensive care teams, she said: "We were initially concerned but that didn't come to fruition at all. With our data that we've collected, it covers about 0.5% of our workload so it's no impact at all." Ms Schofield told Mr Barclay to "push through" with his plans to consider Martha's law and "give the patients and their relatives the power".
Martha's mum Merope yesterday told the Today programme: "I would like patients to have more power when they are in hospital because when you are in hospital, you are totally powerless. One lesson from Martha's deterioration is that more agency on the part of patients to challenge the culture will make hospitals safer. Asking for a second opinion when there's deterioration shouldn't be a problem and it shouldn't involve confrontation. The idea of Martha's rule effectively would formalise the idea of asking for a second opinion from a different team. Today listeners might think, well, this doesn't apply to me because I'm very healthy but the one thing I can guarantee to everyone listening to this is that you or someone you love dearly will be in hospital at some point. And you need to have something you can do, a lever you can pull, if you think things are going wrong and nobody is listening to you."
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