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.
Martha’s rule helplines received 10,119 calls between September 2024 and December 2025 from patients, relatives or staff who were worried about care, the figures show,That led to 446 people receiving improvements to their care that may have saved their life,One in three calls (3,457) identified a rapid worsening of a patient’s condition, helping raise the alarm more quickly and enable crucial interventions to be made,The NHS England data shows 1,885 patients had their treatment changed as a result,In addition, about 6,000 calls had addressed clinical, communication or coordination concerns, which led to “meaningful improvements” in care or navigating the healthcare system for patients and their families, health officials said.
The initiative is the direct result of pressure put on politicians, NHS bosses and doctors after Martha’s parents, Merope Mills and Paul Laity, told the story of what happened to their daughter, who would have turned 18 last September if she had lived,Martha’s rule is now in operation in every acute hospital in England,Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, said: “The more data that is gathered, the clearer it becomes that Martha’s rule is having a hugely positive effect,Apart from the lives saved, over a third of the calls have led to a marked improvement in care,“The process is not being overused and has obviously met a need, giving patients and families real agency.
We look forward to its thorough implementation in maternity departments and call for its rapid introduction in Wales and Scotland.”The scheme gives patients, their loved ones and NHS staff the right to ask for a different medical team to examine the care being provided and recommend changes.Patients at hospitals involved in the programme have 24/7 access to a critical care team of doctors and nurses from elsewhere in the building, who specialise in the care of patients who are deteriorating and who will come and assess the situation.Aidan Fowler, NHS England’s director of patient safety, said: “Martha’s rule is already helping to save lives and transform the culture of the NHS.These figures show that Merope and Paul’s tireless campaigning and the hard work of staff are helping the NHS listen to families more effectively and shows that when concerns are raised, hospital teams are ready to respond.
”Responding to the data, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said Mills and Laity had turned “unimaginable grief” into “lasting change”,“Martha’s rule is making sure the NHS listens to patients and their families when it matters most, with each call potentially resulting in a life-saving intervention,” he said,“I am determined that Martha’s legacy continues to grow through pilots in maternity wards,This is all part of our plan to make sure that patient safety is at the very heart of the NHS and that each and every family gets the compassionate care they expect and deserve,”
Iran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrel for first time since 2022
Global oil prices surged past $100 (£74, AU$142) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.A weekend of escalating violence in the Middle East intensified concerns around a sustained supply crunch, propelling oil prices to their highest level in four years and triggering a deep stock market sell-off.At least five energy sites in and around Tehran were hit by strikes, prompting accounts of “apocalyptic” scenes in the Iranian capital. Kuwait’s national oil company also announced a precautionary production cut amid retaliatory attacks by Iran.The strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most important trade arteries, through which about a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas tankers typically pass – has been in effect closed for a week
Britain’s job market ‘floundering’ as companies remain cautious about hiring
Britain’s jobs market is “floundering” amid weak hiring demand, with only limited signs of recovery, data has revealed.Companies remain cautious about hiring staff amid cost pressures and economic uncertainty, according to two reports released on Monday. They show the labour market continues to be in a fragile position.A monthly employment index from BDO, an accountancy and consultancy firm, is running at its weakest level in nearly 15 years. It has had its worst reading since March 2011, when the jobs market was still recovering from the financial crash
AI allows hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts, study finds
AI has made it vastly easier for malicious hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts, a new study has warned.In most test scenarios, large language models (LLMs) – the technology behind platforms such as ChatGPT – successfully matched anonymous online users with their actual identities on other platforms, based on the information they posted.The AI researchers Simon Lermen and Daniel Paleka said LLMs make it cost effective to perform sophisticated privacy attacks, forcing a “fundamental reassessment of what can be considered private online”.In their experiment, the researchers fed anonymous accounts into an AI, and got it to scrape all the information it could. They gave a hypothetical example of a user talking about struggling at school, and walking their dog Biscuit through a “Dolores park”
ChatGPT driving rise in reports of ‘satanic’ organised ritual abuse, UK experts say
ChatGPT is driving a rise in reports of organised ritual abuse, UK experts have said, as survivors of “satanic” sexual violence use the AI tool for therapy.Police say organised ritual abuse and “witchcraft, spirit possession and spiritual abuse” (WSPRA) against children is under-reported in the UK. There is no modern-day charge that covers it specifically, but such offending is typified by sexual abuse, violence and neglect involving ritualistic elements – sometimes inspired by satanism, fascism or esoteric religious beliefs – to control victims.Perpetrators include abusive families and networks, human traffickers, online gangs and paedophile rings.There have been 14 UK criminal cases since 1982 in which ritualistic practices in sexual abuse were acknowledged
Lewis Hamilton confident Ferrari ‘in the fight’ with Mercedes for 2026 F1 championship
Lewis Hamilton has declared he is fired-up and optimistic in his belief that Ferrari will be in the world championship fight with Mercedes after the new Formula One season opened in Australia on Sunday.The race in Melbourne was won by Mercedes’ George Russell, with his teammate Kimi Antonelli in second but Ferrari claimed third and fourth for Charles Leclerc and Hamilton. Both drivers executed superb starts to make up places to first and third respectively and for the opening 12 laps were very much in the fight with Russell at the front of the field.Ultimately they were not in the mix for the win after Mercedes took advantage of a virtual safety car to take a cheap pitstop while Ferrari chose not to do so. Nonetheless the Ferrari did show impressive pace and a reinvigorated Hamilton maintained he felt the they could yet catch the leaders
Collingwood’s cool heads rise to big AFL occasion and make point to naysayers | Jonathan Horn
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