Are you concerned about a patient? Are you worried about a patient?

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You and your loved ones know you best and know when something is not right.

Patients, their relatives and carers can sometimes pick up on a change in a condition sooner than medical monitoring might.  

If you feel your condition – or that of a loved one in hospital – is getting seriously worse, tell a doctor or nurse straight away. If you’re still worried after that, you can speak to our Call 4 Concern team.

What is Call for Concern?

Call 4 Concern is a service patients, relatives, carers and hospital staff can use if they have serious concerns that an inpatient’s health is getting significantly worse but feel the issues they’ve raised have not been resolved.  

It’s run by our Critical Care Outreach – a team of nurses who work closely with doctors to help colleagues on wards look after seriously ill patients. 

They will talk through your concerns and can come out to the ward to see if they can help.

When should I contact Call for Concern?

Doctors and nurses will always act professionally and respond to your concerns. But you can contact Call 4 Concern if you feel these have not been resolved:

1 (If you’re concerned/worried):

• Tell a nurse or doctor what you’ve noticed.

2 (If you’re still concerned/worried after that):

• Speak to the nurse in charge.

3 (If you’re still not reassured)

• Contact the Call 4 Concern team for help.

You can ask the ward staff to call us, or get in touch directly: 

Royal Sussex County Hospital 07917 836543

Princess Royal Hospital 07747 201999

You’ll need to tell us:

• Your/the patient’s name 
• The name of the ward
• What you’re concerned about 
• What’s been done about it 
• Your relationship to the patient 
• Your contact details

When should I not contact Call 4 Concern?

Only contact Call 4 Concern if you feel your condition or that of your loved one is getting seriously worse. If you have any non-urgent concerns about care or want to make a complaint, please speak to the ward nurse or doctor in the first instance. 

You can also talk to the matron or ward manager, and our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offers impartial, confidential advice to help you resolve any problem: 

• Royal Sussex County Hospital: 01273 696955 ext 64511 or 64973 
• Princess Royal Hospital: 01444 448678 
• Email: [email protected] 

What happens next?

The Critical Care Outreach will listen to your concerns. They will then usually visit the ward to assess the situation and discuss any further treatment needed. 

The ward team will add a note of the visit to their patient records. This will explain the concerns raised and any actions taken. 

We try to answer all calls promptly, but the team may be responding to an emergency when you call. If you can’t get through, please speak to the ward team again. We also prioritise ward visits according to urgency.

It is always absolutely fine to raise a concern in this way.

We want to involve patients and their relatives in their care. You’re another important source of information and a good judge of how things are going. 

We’ll never treat you differently if you raise a concern. We all want the best for our patients.

Martha’s Rule

Call 4 Concern is now part of a national pilot programme based on Martha’s Rule. 

Martha’s Rule requires NHS hospitals to give patients, their families and carers 24/7 access to services like Call 4 Concern so they can get a rapid review from a separate team if they’re worried about anyone’s condition. 

It’s named after Martha Mills, who died in 2021 aged 13 after developing sepsis while being treated in hospital for an injury she suffered falling off her bike. Her family raised concerns about her deteriorating condition, but these were not responded to. 

Martha’s Rule has been introduced after her parents campaigned for the concerns of the people who know a patient best to be listened to and acted on.