Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024

Patient safety mechanism which gives patients the right to seek a second opinion having ‘lifesaving impact’, says health secretary

• ‘I am invoking Martha’s rule’: how a woman saved her father from near death in hospital

More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.

They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024.