Mum's demand after girl, 13, died when doctor ignored parents' fears
A grief-stricken mother whose daughter died aged 13 in hospital after doctors dismissed her concerns is demanding all hospitals across England give patients the power to get an automatic second medical opinion about care.
Merope Mills wants "Martha's Rule" to be introduced by NHS England following the tragic death of Martha at King’s College Hospital London (KCHL), one month after sustaining a handlebar injury whilst cycling on a family holiday. An inquest heard Martha could have survived had her care been better. Mary Hassell, senior coroner for Inner North London, wrote: "If she had been referred promptly and had been appropriately treated, the likelihood is that she would have survived her injuries... In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths."
Merope Mills speaking on the Today programme (Today/BBC Radio 4)Merope's plea has now been seen by the top boss of NHS complaints in England, Rob Behrens, who said he wants Martha's Rule to be introduced to give patients the power to get an automatic second medical opinion about hospital care when they think things are going wrong. It would give parents, carers and patients the right to call for an urgent second clinical opinion from other experts at the same hospital, if they have concerns about their current care.
Martha developed an infection on KCHL and her condition deteriorated rapidly in August 2021. Merope told Martha "I love you" over and over as Martha was sedated and intubated, not knowing that would be the last time she would be able to speak to her, the Telegraph reports. Although nurses stated that Martha was "at risk" and should be moved to intensive care, senior doctors did not ask for their opinion Writing for Mail Online this week, Merope said: "There was a particular culture on Rays of Sunshine ward. The hierarchy in place meant that the senior doctors didn’t seek to find out the nurses’ opinion.
"These consultants had never seen bleeding with Martha’s injury before, and didn’t know the source of her infection. But it seems that because they were used to treating chronically ill children they thought they had all the answers."
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Medics knew at this stage Martha had severe sepsis but neither Merope nor her husband Paul were informed. "Investigators have said that Martha should have gone to ICU at this stage, but she stayed on Rays of Sunshine ward," Merope added.
"One reason, according to the external investigators, was that many of the very experienced liver team consultants had ‘complete disregard’ for junior colleagues in ICU. They kept Martha on their ward: we have learned that they would have regarded moving her as a ‘sign of weakness’. Pride and overconfidence can lead to fatal errors."
And the teenager died, of sepsis, at the hospital within days. She suffered a seizure. While Merope recognises the NHS "saves innumerable lives", she now wants "Martha's Rule" introduced to prevent other families from going through the pain she and Paul experienced.
Mr Behrens, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said today: "Along with many others, I was moved and in great admiration for what Merope has said and done and I give unambiguous support. 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."
Talking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added he was powerless to look into the circumstances surrounding Martha's death - unless the family request him to. But Health Secretary Steve Barclay has asked government and the NHS to explore the idea of Martha's Rule. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it is something Labour would support and introduce.
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