Merope Mills appointed CBE for patient safety reforms following daughter’s death
The initiative, implemented in 2024, allows patients and families to request rapid clinical reviews, with NHS data suggesting it has potentially saved over 500 lives.
Journalist and healthcare campaigner Merope Mills has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours list for her services to patient safety. Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, was the driving force behind the introduction of ‘Martha’s Rule’ in England, a policy framework designed to empower patients, relatives, and staff to request a rapid second opinion on care when concerns arise.
The campaign was initiated following the 2021 death of Mills’ 13-year-old daughter, Martha, from sepsis at King’s College Hospital in London. Martha had been transferred to the facility, one of three national centres for paediatric pancreatic trauma, after suffering a laceration to her pancreas in a cycling accident. Although her condition was initially not considered life-threatening, she developed sepsis, which nursing staff privately acknowledged as life-threatening.
A coroner ruled in 2022 that Martha would probably have survived had doctors identified the warning signs and transferred her to intensive care earlier. Mills and her husband, Paul Laity, campaigned for a system allowing families to call a hospital-run helpline for a rapid review of care, arguing that the power dynamic in hospitals needed to shift to give patients and their families more voice.
Martha’s Rule was implemented in 2024, enabling individuals to trigger a mechanism that results in a rapid clinical review. Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that over 500 people received potentially life-saving care, such as transfer to intensive care or specialist units, after triggering the mechanism. Streeting noted that the policy puts patients and families at the heart of care, marking a cultural shift within the National Health Service.
NHS statistics indicate the rule has potentially saved more than 500 lives since its introduction. Mills acknowledged the recognition as a collective effort involving doctors and nurses who helped make the rule a reality. She emphasised that while the policy is a significant step, the number of preventable deaths remains high, costing the NHS billions in compensation and treating complications resulting from mistakes.
