Patients have a right to a second opinion

Martha Mills died of sepsis in August 2021, following catastrophic treatment failures at King’s College Hospital. Rather than celebrate what would have been her 16th birthday yesterday, her parents called for hospitals across the country to bring in “Martha’s Rule”, giving all patients the right to an urgent second opinion if they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously. The Health Secretary has said he is “exploring introducing” it.

Hierarchies, egos and fraught relations between different wards meant several opportunities to save Martha were missed. To many bereaved families, this may sound all too familiar. Martha’s parents repeatedly, calmly raised concerns – but were ignored. Nurses wrote that Martha was at risk of death seven days before she died – yet doctors never looked at their notes.

Where patient and family-centred escalation systems exist, such as Pittsburgh, Queensland or indeed Royal Berkshire Hospital, the evidence is that they have saved lives. As Martha’s mother has underscored, good doctors should welcome input from patients or their loved ones.

It is not enough for Trusts to offer apologies. Scandals are too prevalent in our healthcare service; in Stafford, between 400 and 1,200 people may have died from poor care between 2005 and 2009; in Shrewsbury and Telford, 201 babies died between 2000 and 2019; in 2015 and 2016, Lucy Letby murdered seven newborns and attempted to murder six more.

The best functioning healthcare services have checks and balances on doctors, managers, and all other medical professionals. The NHS risks fostering a culture of cover-ups, while tilting the balance of power too heavily away from patients and towards those providing treatment. Medical staff are fallible. Mistakes will be made, diagnoses will be flawed. Martha’s Rule is a necessary intervention.