TOH edition: Tuesday, 22 September 2026 · Health & Medicine
When a Family Says Something Is Wrong and No One Listens, People Die. Every Emergency Room in England Must Now Call in a Second Team.
Reported by The Guardian
Publisher date:
NHS officials have announced that Martha's rule — the right of patients, families and staff to call in a different medical team for an urgent second opinion — will apply in every emergency department in England, after the ward rollout that officials say has already potentially saved hundreds of lives.
Fear of being ignored in an overstretched emergency department is one of the most widely shared anxieties about health systems. England has just made being listened to a formal right.
Read the original report at The Guardian (opens in a new tab) →
Read the full front page of Tuesday, 22 September 2026 →
Get tomorrow's front page
Five reasons to believe in progress, delivered once a day.