Journalist and healthcare campaigner Merope Mills has been awarded a CBE in the king's birthday honours list for services to patient safety. Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, was the driving force behind Martha's Rule, a patient safety initiative in England that is believed to have saved hundreds of lives.
Campaign After Personal Tragedy
Mills launched the campaign following the death of her 13-year-old daughter Martha in 2021. Martha died due to failures in identifying and treating sepsis she developed while at King's College Hospital in London. In 2022, a coroner ruled that Martha would likely have survived if doctors had recognized the warning signs and transferred her to intensive care earlier.
Martha initially suffered a laceration to her pancreas in a cycling accident. She was transferred to the south London hospital, a national centre for pediatric pancreatic trauma. Her condition was not considered life-threatening initially, but she developed sepsis. Her parents' concerns about her deteriorating health were dismissed by doctors, while nursing staff privately acknowledged she was at risk of death.
Martha's Rule Implementation
Martha's Rule allows patients, relatives, and staff to seek a second opinion if they have concerns about care. They can call a hospital-run helpline and request a rapid review. The NHS in England began using the rule in 2024.
Mills said: "This is recognition for a campaign fought not just by me but also my husband, Paul, with the help of many excellent doctors and nurses who helped make Martha's Rule a reality. They knew it was time we saw a shift in the power dynamic in hospitals, and a real chance to give patients and their families more of a voice at the time they need it most."
She added: "There is still so much that can be done to make our healthcare safer. The number of preventable deaths like Martha's remains shockingly high. Apart from the devastation it causes families like ours, it costs the NHS billions in compensation and treating complications that result from mistakes. NHS statistics suggest Martha's Rule may have saved more than 500 lives since 2024. Occasionally, I hear from people who used it and saw significant changes in treatment or other life-saving interventions after making a Martha's Rule call."
Government Recognition
Last month, former health secretary Wes Streeting said more than 500 people had received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha's Rule. They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after the safety mechanism was triggered. Streeting commented: "Martha's parents have fought tirelessly to turn the most unimaginable grief into something that is genuinely changing how our NHS works. Merope and Paul pushed for a practical change that puts patients and families at the heart of care – and it's one that is already having a life-saving impact. That takes extraordinary courage, and the NHS owes them an enormous debt of gratitude. The NHS is changing its culture and putting patient safety at its heart. Change isn't always easy, but Martha's Rule is proof that it can be done."
