Martha’s rule: 446 lifesaving interventions in 16 months, NHS says

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Source: BMJ

Original: http://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s458.short?rss=1...

Published: 2026-03-09T08:56:06-07:00

In the 16 months of the Martha's rule program, 10,119 calls were made to helplines from patients, families and staff. One out of three phone calls helped identify a worsening patient condition. In 3457 cases this led to an acute call and 1885 patients received changes in treatment. This included 446 potentially life-saving interventions for transfer to a higher level of care. More than 6,000 calls related to clinical, communication, or coordination issues resulted in meaningful improvements in care or system navigation. The number of calls has more than doubled to 4,911 since June last year due to increased deployment in the NHS. The program ran from September 2024 to December 2025.