Martha’s rule: parallels with acute oncology

Cooksley and colleagues discuss how the careful implementation and evaluation of Martha’s rule are essential.1The circumstances surrounding the death of Martha Mills echo those that were identified in the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report on deaths in the 30 days following systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT).2 Following publication of the report the discipline of acute oncology was established to deal with the adverse effects of SACT as well as other emergencies occurring in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer—such as spinal cord compression—and those in whom the presence of malignancy is first recognised during an acute episode.The principle of recognising the need for appropriate timely intervention into a patients’ condition, especially when it changes, and of making the necessary expertise available is common ground. Both Martha’s rule and the need for an acute oncology service derive from the fact that all clinicians are fallible when it…
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