I am the chief executive of Demos, a cross-party think tank that works to put people at the heart of policy making to improve how policy is developed as well as trust in politics. Think tanks sit outside government and are…
Martha's Rule
The New Zealand Experience
In 2016 the Health Quality Safety Commission (HQSC) in NZ launched a five-year programme that improved and standardised the way health care systems recognised and responded to deterioration. There were three main work streams…
Introducing Ryan’s Rule, the forerunner of Martha’s Rule
Ryan’s Rule was developed in response to the tragic death of Ryan Saunders in 2007. Sadly, Ryan died from an undiagnosed streptococcal infection that led to toxic shock syndrome. Worried that Ryan’s condition was worsening, his parents…
Learning for Martha’s Rule in Wales
Eirian Edwards and Chris Subbe explain how they have implemented the new initiative in Wales. In April 2023 we officially launched the Call 4Concern service for all adult patients admitted to our hospital in Bangor, as the first site in Wales to…
‘Patients and families can be agents of improvement’
More than 20 years ago, my husband and I took our 15-year-old son Lewis to an American children’s hospital for elective thoracic surgery. Our 10-year-old daughter accompanied us. Four days later we made the lonely trip home with only our daughter. Our son left the hospital via another route: the morgue…
‘Patients inspired me to create a new service’
The national implementation of Martha’s Rule is a major step forward in the commitment to improve patient safety. It is a shame that it has come about following the unnecessary tragic death of 13-year-old Martha Mills. Unfortunately, Martha and her family are not the only ones to suffer…