Call 4 Concern

What is the Call 4 Concern© (C4C) service?

Call 4 Concern is a safety service for inpatients, their loved ones and carers, available at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

Through the Call 4 Concern service it is possible to make direct contact with our Clinical Care Outreach Team, this service facilitates active involvement in a patient's care should there be concerns about their condition.   

We understand that patients, their loved ones or carers, can often spot signs that may indicate a worsening condition before staff or monitoring systems (such as blood pressure machines). 

If you feel that your, or a loved one’s, condition has worsened and the healthcare team is not responding as you would like, Call 4 Concern exists to provide an independent review. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The subtle signs that you’re picking up may not be recognised by our teams who are likely focused on clinical factors, but we know these signals are important and you know them better than anyone.

First, discuss your concerns with the nurse/midwife or doctor responsible for you or your loved one’s care.

If, after doing that, you feel:

  • Your questions have not been answered
  • Your concerns have not been taken seriously
  • You (or your loved one) are becoming more unwell
  • Your (or your loved one’s) treatment is not working

phone the hospital switchboard on 01962 824008 and ask to speak to the ‘Call 4 Concern team’.

The Call 4 Concern team will ask you for:

  • Your name/the name of the patient
  • The ward name
  • A brief description of your concern

The Call 4 Concern team will assess how best to help you or your loved one and decide on the
right course of action. This may involve:

  • Visiting you on the ward to assess your (or your loved one’s) condition

If you or your loved one are a maternity or a paediatric patient this will be done in conjunction with the specialist for that unit.

Hampshire Hospitals’ experienced and professional medical teams appreciate that during an extremely worrying time, you may feel anxious about the care being provided.

If you feel you need to contact Call 4 Concern, our staff will support and respect your decision.

Please be assured that contacting Call 4 Concern will not affect your - or your loved one’s - treatment in any way. Our aim is to improve the care of all our patients while they are in hospital.

Patient safety is the priority for everyone at Hampshire Hospitals. We recognise the important role that patients, families and carers play in sharing their concerns.

Once a member of the Call 4 C has visited and assessed, the appropriate clinical response will take place. 

Following this, a member of the team will check you are reassured that your concerns have been addressed and that the right care is in place.

Call 4 Concern is an inpatient safety service. 

If your concerns are not about the health or care of an inpatient, please speak to the ward nursing or midwifery team.

For example, if you have queries about:
•    the quality or the range of food provided by the hospital
•    the cleanliness of the ward
•    something else about the environment of the hospital

If you do not feel your concerns in these areas have been addressed, ask to speak to the nurse or midwife in charge, or the matron for the ward area. 

For further support, contact our PALS and complaints team by telephone on 01256 486766 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm) or via email at palsandcomplaints@hhft.nhs.uk. 
 

Martha's Rule

Call 4 Concern, also known as ‘Martha’s Rule’ has been developed in collaboration with the NHS and the family of Martha Mills, a 13-year-old girl who died in 2021 after developing sepsis. In 2023, a coroner ruled that Martha probably would have survived if her family’s concerns about her deteriorating condition had been responded to and she been moved to intensive care earlier.

The service will help the NHS improve the care of patients experiencing acute deterioration.

We would like to pay tribute to the family of Martha Mills, whose dedicated work on Martha’s Rule has resulted in the establishment of this valuable service. Through the heartbreaking loss of their daughter, they have significantly improved patient safety and care.

Accessibility tools

Return to header