Martha's Rule rolled out at every A&E department in England

Prof Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety at NHS England, said the expansion of Martha's Rule would give families and NHS staff "a critical new lifeline" to help improve care and save more lives.

Staff can themselves ask for a review from a different team if they are concerned the appropriate action is not being taken.

During the eight-month pilot at the seven trusts, 69 calls were made to dedicated Martha's Rule phone numbers, including some calls relating to acute deterioration following an urgent clinical review. In some cases, it led to a patient having immediate surgery or being transferred to intensive care.

Prof Fowler said: "Early testing has shown that Martha's Rule can work well in busy A&Es and builds on the evidence from our adult and children's wards, where thousands of calls have been made by patients, families and staff to date, with many leading to changes in treatment and potentially life-saving interventions."

Health minister Baroness Merron said the initiative was part of "wider efforts to put patient safety at the heart of the NHS."

Patients and their families can check with their local hospital or NHS trust where Martha's Rule is available by visiting the trust's website or asking hospital staff.

Scotland is beginning to use Martha's Rule and Northern Ireland is considering using it, while Wales has a similar scheme called Call4Concern.