Everything you need to know about the NHS Constitution change, from doctors ... trends now
Medics will have a duty to ensure sick Brits return to work under new NHS proposals, the Government has revealed.
Under proposed changes to the NHS Constitution — which outlines the rights of patients and staff and overall objectives — the health service will also be tasked to crackdown on terms like 'chestfeeding' and ensure 'biological sex is respected'.
The changes could also see trans women, who are biologically male, banned from female-only hospital wards in England.
Last updated in 2015, the document will now be subject to an eight-week consultation.
Here MailOnline details everything you need to know about the proposals.
'Martha's Rule' sets out the need to provide families with a second opinion, if requested, when a patient's condition is deteriorating. It follows a campaign by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills for whom the rule is named after. Martha died in August 2021 while under the care of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London after developing sepsis
Martha's parents, Merope Mills (pictured), an editor at the Guardian, and her husband Paul Laity, raised concerns about Martha's health a number of times but these were brushed aside
Martha's Rule
This will set out the need to provide families with a second opinion, if requested, when a patient's condition is deteriorating.
The rollout of the escalation process, also known as Martha's Rule, started earlier this month.
Including it within the Constitution would 'embed' its right, the Government has said.
It follows a campaign by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills for whom the rule is named after.
Martha died in August 2021 while under the care of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London after developing sepsis.
Merope Mills and Paul Laity, raised concerns about their daughter's health a number of times to NHS staff but these were brushed aside.
A coroner ruled she would most likely have survived if doctors had identified the warning signs of her rapidly deteriorating condition and transferred her to intensive care earlier.
Supporting people to 'remain in and return to work'
The constitution could also be changed to emphasise the NHS's role in supporting people back to work.
Under the NHS Constitution's value 'improving lives', the Government has suggested adding wording to reflect the 'good impact that work can have'.
If adopted the new version will read: 'We support people to remain in, and return to, work, reflecting the good impact that work can have on a person's health and wellbeing.'
It comes as Rishi Sunak this week outlined plans to reduce the 3.5million disability benefits bill.
The changes would also see recipients of personal independence payments (PIP), the main disability benefit, given vouchers instead of regular cash payments under a clampdown on 'sick note culture'.
Earlier this month the Prime Minister also vowed to strip GPs of their power to sign Brits off work.
The change would instead see the letters – known in the NHS as 'fit notes' – become the responsibility of teams of 'specialist work and health professionals', he said.
Latest figures suggest 2.8million Britons are 'economically inactive' due to ill health. Around half are signed off with depression, anxiety and bad nerves.
Official forecasts also show spending on ill health through the PIP scheme is set to spiral to £33billion by 2029 — compared to just under £19bn last year.
A source close to Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said today: 'As the Secretary of
