Are you worried about your child’s condition and feel like you’re not being heard?

Martha’s Rule is a new patient safety initiative which supports patients and families with an urgent review if you feel that your concerns about deterioration (a patient’s health becoming significantly worse) have not been taken on board by staff. It will help us spot any unexpected signs of your child’s condition deteriorating earlier on.

We want all of our patients, families and carers to feel empowered to escalate your concerns, as no one knows your child better than you do. With your help, the teams at Sheffield Children’s can continue to deliver safe, kind and outstanding care, everywhere.

We have now introduced this initiative to support inpatients at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital site. 

How are we implementing Martha’s Rule?

Whilst your child is at Sheffield Children’s, we regularly check on their vital signs and other important health measurements. Sometimes we may need to wake your child to do some of these checks.

How often we do these checks depends on your child’s individual condition and needs.

As well as this, we will ask your child if they are feeling better or worse using our Patient Wellness Questionnaire to monitor any unexpected changes in their condition. We will do this every day. Sometimes we will do this more than once per day.

Escalating your concerns using Martha’s Rule at Sheffield Children’s

You know your child better than anyone. You may notice small changes before they show up in our routine observations.

Telling us about these changes can help us detect deterioration early, so we can take action to prevent more serious health problems.

Tell us when a change worries you:

1. First, speak with your Nurse or Doctor

2. If you are still concerned, please ask for the Nurse in Charge or the Ward Manager

3. If you are still worried, call the Clinical Site Manager (524) on 07785 655 478

4. Still not being heard? Call the Senior Nurse on Call on 07917 650206

If you do not have access to a phone, please ask a member of staff to call on your behalf.

For more information about Martha’s Rule, please visit the NHS England website.