By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The hospital trust that looked after Nottingham attacker Valdo Calocane has apologised after a report concluded the risk he posed to the public “was not managed well and opportunities to mitigate risk were missed”.
In June last year Calocane killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, with a knife as they walked home from a night out, before going on to fatally stab 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates.
Calocane then stole Mr Coates’ van and used it to inflict serious injuries on three other people.
Following Calocane’s criminal case conviction in January 2024, then-Health Secretary Victoria Atkins (Con) commissioned the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out a rapid review of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Calocane had been under the trust’s care for two years, and he first came into contact with its mental health services in May 2020.
At the time, he was a student at the University of Nottingham.
Calocane was given a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia in July 2020 and, between May 2020 and February 2022, he had six mental health assessments,
which led to four hospital detentions.
Each of these admissions involved instances of threatening and assaultive behaviour as a result of his psychosis, according to the CQC.
The final section of the review, published on Tuesday (August 13), concluded there were “a series of errors, omissions and misjudgements” which meant Calocane did not receive the support and follow-up he needed.
Chris Dzikiti, the CQC’s Interim Chief Inspector of Healthcare, said: “While it is not possible to say the devastating events on 13 June 2023 would not have taken place had Calocane received that support, what is clear is that the risk he presented to the public was not managed well and that opportunities to mitigate that risk were missed.
“For the individuals involved, their families and loved ones, the damage cannot be undone. However, there is action that can, and must, be taken to better support people with serious mental health issues and provide better protection for the public in the future.
“We have made clear recommendations to improve oversight and treatment of people with serious mental health issues at both a provider and a national level.
“Wider national action is also needed to tackle systemic issues in community mental health – including a shortage of mental health staff and lack of integration between mental health services and other healthcare, social care and support services – so that people get the right care, treatment and support when and where they need it.”
NHS England will also be conducting a more detailed scrutiny of Valdo Calocane’s wider interaction with mental health services in its Independent Homicide Review.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare Chief Executive, Ifti Majid, said: “I offer our sincere apologies to the families of Grace, Ian and Barnaby who lost their lives and to Wayne, Sharon and Marcion who were seriously injured.
“Clearly, today is another reminder of the tragic events of last June, and our thoughts are with all those whose lives changed irreparably after the attacks.
“We acknowledge and accept the conclusions of this report and have significantly improved processes and standards since the review was carried out. Our teams have much more contact with people waiting to be seen in the community to agree crisis plans and ensure they have an up-to-date risk assessment even when they are struggling to engage with our services or primary care.
“Colleagues are also working to improve alignment between our teams, primary care and talking therapies, helping to reduce waiting times as well as communicate more effectively when patients move between services or disengage from treatment.
“We have a clear plan to address the issues highlighted and are doing everything in our power to understand where we missed opportunities and learn from them.”
