National visit highlights West Midlands leadership in Martha’s Rule rollout
Health Innovation West Midlands (HIWM) hosted a pivotal national visit at Walsall Manor Hospital and Russell’s Hall Hospital, showcasing regional progress in implementing the Managing Deterioration, PIER and Martha’s Rule Programme.
As we mark World Patient Safety Day today (17 September), the theme for the day is: ‘Safe care for every newborn and every child’.
The visit coincided with the nationwide rollout of Martha’s Rule, now available in all 210 acute hospitals in England. The initiative enables patients, families, and staff to escalate concerns and request urgent clinical reviews when a patient’s condition worsens. Between September 2024 and June 2025, over 4,906 calls were made to Martha’s Rule helplines, resulting in 241 potentially life-saving interventions (national stats).
The event brought together NHS leaders, clinicians, patient safety experts, and representatives from trusts across the Black Country to explore innovative approaches to early detection of deterioration and patient empowerment.
The agenda included:
Regional insights into the PIER (Patient-Initiated Escalation Response) model and its integration with Martha’s Rule.
Trust-led sessions on Patient Wellness Rounding by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
A ward visit and workshop at Walsall Manor Hospital.
A site visit to Russell’s Hall Hospital, where The Dudley Group NHS Trust demonstrated their holistic deterioration approach.
Dr Aidan Fowler, National Director for Patient Safety and Senior Responsible Officer for the programme said: “Martha’s Rule is incredibly important for patients and families. It starts with the story of Martha and how her family weren’t listened to and that's the outcome we are trying to avoid. We’re trying to make sure that families get to enjoy their children’s birthdays in the future as it would have been Martha’s 18th birthday last week.”
Daniel Hodgkiss, Head of Implementation and Improvement at Health Innovation West Midlands said: “This visit marks a significant milestone in our journey to embed Martha’s Rule across the West Midlands. The collaboration and innovation shown today reflect our commitment to patient safety and listening to families.”
