Martha’s rule may have saved 400 lives so far in England, figures show

More than 400 lives may have been saved as a result of Martha’s rule, which lets NHS patients request a review of their care, official figures reveal.Helplines received more than 10,000 calls in the first 16 months of the scheme after its introduction in England in 2024, according to data seen by the Guardian. Thousands of patients were either moved to intensive care, received drugs they needed or benefited from other changes as a direct result of the calls.The system is named after Martha Mills, 13, who died in 2021 from sepsis after a bicycle accident. A coroner found she would probably have survived if she had been moved to the intensive care unit at King’s College hospital in London when she began deteriorating

How ADHD diagnosis helped my mental health | Letters

In suggesting there is a possibility that we all lie somewhere on an ADHD continuum, your correspondent (Letters, 27 February) is missing the point.ADHD – and autism – are neurodiversities, meaning that the brains of individuals with ADHD and/or autism are “wired” differently from those of people with “typical” brains. In other words, you either have it or you don’t. To suggest that everyone is a bit ADHD or a bit autistic is insulting to those of us who actually are ADHD/autistic, and diminishes our lived experience. Yes, self-help tools can be useful

Labour should aim to end sexual exploitation, not just curb its visibility | Letter

Your editorial on adult services websites (4 March) rightly raises urgent questions about platform harm and the government’s responsibility to act.Unseen’s modern slavery helpline indicated 799 potential victims of sexual exploitation in 2025. Reports of child sexual exploitation more than doubled in 2024 – from 53 to 110. These are not projections. They are cases reported directly to us by victims and frontline workers with nowhere else to call

NHS is letting women down through ‘medical misogyny’, says Wes Streeting

“Medical misogyny” in the UK is letting women down, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, has admitted, as a survey showed half of female patients felt they had been dismissed or ignored because of their sex.A report from Mumsnet, which examined data taken from the site over the past decade, warned of “structural and deeply embedded” sexism in UK healthcare. A survey of women using the site found that more than half believed the NHS was institutionally misogynistic.The survey also found that:50% of women believe they have been dismissed, ignored or not believed by an NHS professional because of their sex.64% say they have been explicitly told their pain or symptoms were “normal” or “in their head”

A death scholar on why we need to stop being naive about dying: ‘I always hear, “Can’t you just put me into a nice meadow?”’

Dr Hannah Gould on eco-funerals, being ‘the death person’ and the one thing everyone should know before they dieGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAround 2040, Australia will reach peak death. A silver tsunami of boomers are predicted to propel the annual death rate to double that of today, putting immense strain on the healthcare and deathcare systems.Dr Hannah Gould – a death scholar and author of the book How to Die in the 21st Century – calls it “boomergeddon”, and says it brings with it a certain range of ideas about what a good death looks like.“The overwhelming value of end-of-life decisions, particularly among the baby boomer population, is this value of right, autonomy and control,” she says.Choreographing end of life – from bespoke aged care solutions and medical interventions to prolong quality of life to one-of-a-kind burials – is increasingly possible if you have the resources

Politicians seek meeting with Travelodge CEO after Maidenhead sexual assault case

More than 20 MPs have demanded an urgent meeting with the CEO of Travelodge after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff.The MPs said the case of Kyran Smith, 29, who was jailed for seven-and-a-half years last month, raised “deeply concerning” questions. He attacked the woman after a party in December 2022.Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell was asked to meet MPs and peers to discuss the case, including the chain’s security processes and procedures that led to it offering the victim an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident.Smith was jailed in February after being found guilty of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence