Dudley Young Health Champions create national NHS film explaining life-saving Martha’s Rule

Dudley Young Health Champion from King Edward VI College, Stourbridge, have created a film to help people across England understand Martha’s Rule and how to use it when they are concerned about a loved one in hospital.

The film will be shared through GP practices and hospitals and used in the training of NHS healthcare professionals.

Martha’s Rule is an NHS patient-safety initiative designed to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring that concerns raised by patients, families, carers and staff are heard and acted on. If a patient’s condition is getting worse and concerns have not been addressed by the care team, patients, families and carers can use a dedicated route to request a rapid review by a different clinical team.

The initiative was developed following the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills and other cases involving the management of clinical deterioration. It recognises that the people who know a patient best may be the first to notice important changes in their condition.

DYHC’s from King Edwards College worked on this year-long awareness campaign and were instrumental in every stage of the creative process. They began by researching Martha’s Rule and other similar initiatives such as Ryan’s Rule and Jess’s Rule to help them better understand the project. Next, they set about developing a script that captured a wide range of key stats and information needed for the film but also being mindful to tell the story of who Martha was.

Once the script had been approved, the DYHC’s began the process of imagining and designing the many characters that appear in the film. They were always conscious of wanting to create a film that highlighted a diverse representation, eager to make a film that felt accessible to all.

The final stage was for the DYHC to work alongside an animator and to start to realise and bring those characters to life.

All the DYHC’s involved voiced the characters that you see in the film, giving us an animation that feel authentic, local and youth led.

Throughout the project the DYHC were given the unique opportunity to liaise with national NHS partners, empowering them make crucial decisions and artistic choices about the film that wanted to make.

“The Dudley Young Health Champions involved in this project have shown exceptional creativity, empathy and dedication. They treated Martha’s story with the utmost care and respect, producing an animation that resonates with a diverse audience and encourages vital conversations. I am immensely proud of what they have achieved. This is more than a film, it is a powerful tool that will raise awareness, inspire change and ultimately help save lives.”

– Nicola Byrne, Development Officer, Dudley CVS

After premiering the Martha’s Rule animation in July, the video is now available for the public to view and share.

The NHS will be sharing the film in GP practices, hospitals and will be using it in training sessions for healthcare professionals.

Dudley CVS are proud to see the incredible impact that has come from the hard work of local young people in our community.

You can watch and share the film here.

 

Want to know more about Martha’s Rule?

Healthwatch Dudley have created a guide to explain what Martha’s Rule is and how to use it if you are concerned about a hospital patient’s condition getting worse.

Read it here.