Martha’s rule should be a last resort for when other safety systems have failed

It is a warning sign that the hospital's safety policies haven't worked, says a consultant anaesthetist

This week the health secretary, Steve Barclay, announced that the government would introduce Martha's rule in England, giving patients and their families the power to obtain a second opinion from senior medics in the same hospital if they are deteriorating rapidly and feel their concerns are being dismissed.

It follows the campaign by the parents of Martha Mills, who died in 2021 after hospital doctors failed to admit her to intensive care. Martha, 13, died after developing sepsis at King's College hospital in south London.