Hospital's 'systemic' failings years before patient freed to launch random killing spree

Failures by the NHS trust responsible for treating Nottingham knife killer Valdo Calocane have been laid bare by the health watchdog – but The Independent can also reveal the hospital was repeatedly warned about poor care and experienced a steep rise in patient deaths over the past decade.

- PETER BLACKBURN, REBECCA THOMAS

An investigation into mental health services in Nottinghamshire found that deaths of vulnerable patients in the years leading up to Calocane’s release from their care more than doubled from 1,694 in 2014-15 to 4,149 in 2021-22.

Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar as they returned from a night out in June last year, before going on to kill 65-year-old Ian Coates.

A damning report into his care, published today by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found the trust’s mental health unit “minimised or omitted” key details of the serious risk he posed to others.

The families of his victims said services caring for him in the lead-up to the attacks “have blood on their hands”. In response, the Department of Health has confirmed there will be a public inquiry into the failings in Calocane’s care.

The CQC report found:

• Calocane persistently refused to take his medication

• He became increasingly violent when his psychosis was not managed properly

• He underwent eight separate risk assessments by the trust but was still released into the community

• Calocane’s discharge back to his GP was authorised despite evidence he was a risk to others

The CQC findings come as an investigation by the magazine The Doctor, shared exclusively with The Independent, reveals Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has received dozens of warnings since 2014-15 from coroners highlighting failures following the deaths of its patients.

The investigation found that concerns about the trust’s services – many similar to those in the CQC findings – have been raised repeatedly for several years and local experts say insufficient action has been taken and lessons are not being learnt.