The programme's expansion followed a pilot in seven trusts to test whether the escalation process could work safely and effectively in busy and fast-paced A&E environments.

Professor Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety at NHS England, said: ‘Martha's Rule is already having a transformative effect in making our acute care even safer, and by expanding Martha's Rule into A&Es, we are giving even more patients, their families and NHS staff a critical new lifeline to help improve care and save more lives.'

Latest figures for July 2026 show the highest ever monthly total of calls made via Martha's Rule (1,678) and since September 2024 to July this year, more than 19,000 (19,177) calls have been made by patients, their families and NHS staff. 

The initiative is named after Martha Mills, who died in 2021, aged 13, after developing sepsis in hospital, where she had been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike.

Matthew Hopkins, director of The NHS Alliance's acute and ambulance network, said: ‘NHS leaders welcome the roll out of Martha's Rule to all hospital A&E departments and waiting rooms, following the initial pilot in seven trusts. They support the initiative's aim to give the most vulnerable patients, families and staff the chance to be heard and raise concerns.

‘This will enhance the safety of care and will provide reassurance for patients and their families if there are concerns that the patient's condition is getting worse.'