THE trust that runs Royal Hampshire County Hospital is one of a minority that does not currently have a critical care outreach team available any time of the day or night to give patients and relatives a second opinion.
Patients and their relatives will be able to request a second opinion from senior medics around the clock when the ‘Martha’s Rule’ system starts at hospitals in England.
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However, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) is thought to be one of around 20 per cent of hospitals not to already have a critical care outreach team available 24/7.
The teams are made up of senior medics who are on call and whom staff can ask to quickly review the condition of a patient they fear is in dangerous decline.
According to The Guardian newspaper, about 70 per cent of hospitals have a critical care outreach team available 24/7, while about 20 per cent have one that operates in traditional daytime working hours.
The Gazette asked HHFT whether it has a critical care outreach team available 24/7.
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It responded by saying that 24/7 outreach is “currently in a planning phase”.
The Government said it is committed to bringing in ‘Martha’s Rule’ in England to make it easier for patients and their families to get a second medical opinion if they believed their concerns were not being taken seriously by medical staff.
It is the result of a campaign by the parents of Martha Mills, who died in 2021 after hospital doctors failed to admit her to intensive care. The 13-year-old, who sustained a pancreatic injury after falling from her bike while on a family holiday, died after developing sepsis while under the care of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London.
A coroner ruled that she probably would have survived if doctors had identified the warning signs and transferred her to intensive care.
The NHS has said it intends to ensure that all hospitals offer 24/7 access to a critical care outreach team.
Asked what it needs to do to implement ‘Martha’s Rule’ at HHFT, a trust spokesperson said: “At HHFT, we are actively planning to introduce a scheme that provides a more formal mechanism for patient advocacy, in line with Martha’s Law, to support patients and families with concerns around their safety in hospital.
“We have always encouraged our staff to ensure all patients and their families feel listened to and that any concerns they have are responded to with care and consideration.”
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