As it happened: Families condemn 'major failures' in triple killer's NHS care

Summary

The families of the victims of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane have held a press conference following a major review of his NHS care
Calocane stabbed to death students Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and school caretaker Ian Coates on 13 June 2023
The independent review into Calocane's treatment found a catalogue of errors that exposed systemic failings in the system
Numerous key findings were identified, including that Calocane was not seen by mental health services in the nine months before the killings after being discharged
Grace O'Malley-Kumar's father says individuals involved in Calocane's care must be held to account
The government has previously committed to a public inquiry, and Barnaby Webber's mother says it must have statutory powers

Live Reporting

Edited by Alex Smith and reporting by Isaac Ashe

Questions raised about safety of Nottinghampublished at 10:49 Greenwich Mean Time
Questions have been being raised on the safety of Nottingham, where Barnaby was attending university when he was stabbed on his way home from a night out.
Mrs Webber said: "Little did we know what an unsafe city he was being left in and what evil waited in the shadows.
"In this city alone since the year 2000, there have been 50 murders under mental health alone."
'No more empty promises'published at 10:44 Greenwich Mean Time
Mrs Webber continues: "The scale of this is unimaginable and of an epic level.
"It must be addressed. No more empty promises.
"Anything that could go wrong, did.
"It is for a public inquiry to take this forward."
Families say fight for justice was 'unfathomable'published at 10:43 Greenwich Mean Time
Emma Webber, mother of 19-year-old Barnaby, said it was "unfathomable" that the families have had to fight for lessons to be learned.
She said: "I am certain our story, our tragedy and this disgraceful miscarriage of justice... would have been brushed under the carpet."
'Major failures' in killer's NHS care condemnedpublished at 10:41 Greenwich Mean Time
Legal representative Neil Hudgell is running the conference through the families' assertions following the review's publication.
Of Calocane, he said: "Undoubtedly he was unwell, but he had insight and knowledge.
"He was not treatment resistant, he resisted treatment."
He said NHS England discharged him "effectively as a ticking time bomb".
He said the families welcomed the publication of the report in full, but that there were "major failures" both before and after the attacks.
He said: "The report focuses on the systemic nature of failings and nothing more.
"The families expected much more from NHS England."
Report into NHS treatment and care exposes systemic failingspublished at 10:40 Greenwich Mean Time
The independent report, by Theemis Consulting, looked into the treatment given to Calocane by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust prior to the killings, as well as the interactions the NHS had with other agencies involved in his care.
Some key findings included:
- Calocane's risk "was not fully understood, managed, documented or communicated"
- There were missed opportunities to take more assertive action towards Calocane's care
- The voice of Calocane's family "was not effectively considered to support the dynamic evaluation of risk" during his treatment
- Other patients under the care of the same trust, some of whom had been discharged, had also perpetrated acts of "serious violence" across 15 incidents between 2019 and 2023
- Calocane had no contact with mental health services or his GP for about nine months prior to the killings
- Calocane did not take his anti-psychotic medication, in part because did not like needles
Families to meet government to discuss public inquirypublished at 10:38 Greenwich Mean Time
The press conference is now under way.
Solicitor Neil Hudgell said families would meet the government next week to discuss a statutory public inquiry.
Mr Hudgell told reporters on Wednesday: "We welcome the offer to meet the government next week to discuss formats and scope of that inquiry, as well as the identity of the chair."
Who is set to speak?published at 10:33 Greenwich Mean Time
Isaac Ashe
BBC News, East Midlands
The press conference is scheduled to take place at a law office in Holborn shortly.
Places are held for Emma Webber, mother of 19-year-old Barnaby Webber, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley-Kumar, parents of 19-year-old Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and James Coates, the son of 65-year-old Ian Coates.
Neil Hudgell, the families' legal representative, will also speak.
You can click above to watch the press conference as it happens.
Families of Nottingham attacks victims set to speak outpublished at 10:30 Greenwich Mean Time
Isaac Ashe
BBC News, East Midlands
Good morning.
A press conference is due to get under way in central London today in the wake of a review which identified systemic failings in the mental healthcare of a man who stabbed three people to death in Nottingham in June 2023.
Families of university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and school caretaker Ian Coates - victims of the killings carried out by Valdo Calocane - are due to speak this morning.