‘This is a watershed moment’: Families of Nottingham attacks victims say public inquiry must follow damning report

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The families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley Kumar and Ian Coates held a London press conference on Wednesday following the release of the report into the killings.

Relatives of the Nottingham attacks victims say systemic change and a full public inquiry must follow a damning report into how the health system failed to prevent Valdo Calocane from carrying out the killings.

The families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley and Kumar Ian Coates spoke after an independent review found multiple failings in how Calocane had been treated before the fatal stabbings on June 13 2023.

Students Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, died when Calocane attacked them with a knife during a rampage across the city centre in the early hours of the morning. Three other people were also seriously injured when he drove Mr Coates’ van at them after stealing it from him as he lay injured.

A report published on Wednesday looked at the NHS care and treatment provided to Valdo Calocane by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and other services.

It says Calocane, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was able to skip vital mental health medication too easily and decisions weren’t shared properly across those responsible for this care.

Speaking after the report was released, relatives said individuals should now be held accountable, and a full public inquiry must now be held. The Government has previously said one will go ahead.

Barnaby’s mother Emma Webber, Grace’s father Dr Sanjoy Kumar, and Ian’s son James told a news conference they felt widespread change was now needed in how people are managed after being diagnosed with serious mental health problems which could mean they pose a risk to themselves and others.

Mrs Webber said: “There wasn’t a red flag or letter raising awareness. The threat was so high staff members refused to visit him alone and were told to plan their exit routes. These were staff members who repeatedly tried to raise to concerns, and those voices fell on deaf ears further up the ranks.”

Armed police in Nottingham following the attacks on June 13
Armed police in Nottingham following the attacks on June 13.

A warrant had been issued for Calocane’s arrest in September 2022, ten months before the attacks, for an assault on an emergency worker.

Mr Kumar said “as Grace’s family, we’ve been failed”, and pointed to failings by Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire Police to do more to detain Calocane before the killings, and gaps in NHS care.

He added: “We will be asking the Secretary of State to hold [individual] doctors responsible.

“For the loss of our beautiful daughter Grace, there must be change. This is a watershed moment”

He repeated the families’ calls for a public inquiry.

Ian Coates’ son James added: “This is a 300-page document on one patient. Imagine what’s happening with the hundreds of other patients.

“The people of Nottingham have been failed.”

The 302-page report makes 27 key findings about his care and the system which organised it. There are two areas of recommendations for national change and ten for Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust.

Calocane had stolen Mr Coates’ van and drove at three pedestrians before being arrested in Radford.

It concludes: “Whilst decisions made were thought to be appropriate by those involved at the point at which they were made, what appears to be missing is shared decision making across all teams involved in VC’s (Valdo Calocane’s) care.”

The report also adds Calocane’s risk was “not fully understood, managed, documented or communicated” and his missing of medication was sometimes “explained away by his
misunderstanding of the number of tablets to take at a time and by forgetting to collect his medication”.

This meant his acceptance and use of medication to treat his conditions was too hard to determine.

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.

Following the June 2023 attacks, Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite secure hospital order in January 2024.

Valdo Calocane was caught on CCTV trying to enter a homeless shelter on the same morning.

NHS England has apologised.

Ifti Majid, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: “We apologise unreservedly for the opportunities we missed in the care of Valdo Calocane and accept the Theemis report in its entirety including its findings and recommendations.

“We are making clear progress with a trust-wide plan, which is already delivering key improvements in areas such as risk assessment and discharge processes. We are also improving the way we listen and engage with patients, families, our colleagues, and local partners – to make sure concerns are acted on as quickly as possible.

“I know that this will never undo the catastrophic damage caused by these events – when three lives were tragically lost, and others changed irreparably. But we will do everything possible to prevent similar incidents happening again and remain totally committed to improving services for the communities we serve.”

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