Petitions/Review NHS patient safety safeguards for infants
StatusOngoing
Opened10 Apr 2026
Closes
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

Review patient safety law to improve early recognition & escalation of serious illness in babies & young infants across NHS care. A review could look at establishing clearer, more standardised & consistent safeguards to help reduce avoidable harm. This could be known as "Ophelia's Law'.

Ophelia attended primary and urgent care settings on multiple occasions with ongoing chest and respiratory symptoms. Despite repeated presentations, she was discharged without escalation, observation, or further investigation. She later died in her sleep from pneumonia. This reflects a wider patient safety issue recognised in national reviews of child deaths and serious incidents: repeat presentations, fragmented assessments, and inconsistent escalation can result in missed opportunities.

10,000
100,000

Constituency engagement ranking

Matthew Patrick
1Matthew Patrick MP
Wirral West
4
Chris Vince
2Chris Vince MP
Harlow
3
Derek Twigg
3Derek Twigg MP
Widnes and Halewood
3
Alison McGovern
4Alison McGovern MP
Birkenhead
2
Lauren Edwards
5Lauren Edwards MP
Rochester and Strood
2
Steve Darling
6Steve Darling MP
Torbay
2
Barry Gardiner
7Barry Gardiner MP
Brent West
1
Lewis Cocking
8Lewis Cocking MP
Broxbourne
1
Sir Lindsay Hoyle
9Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP
Chorley
1
Sir Christopher Chope
10Sir Christopher Chope MP
Christchurch
1