The care provided to Valdo Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic who killed three people in Nottingham, was 'unacceptably poor', a minister has told an inquiry. Baroness Gillian Merron, the mental health minister, apologised for a 'serious omission' by the government in failing to consult survivors before the inquiry was announced.
Calocane fatally stabbed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and grandfather Ian Coates, 65, before attempting to murder three more people with a van on 13 June 2023. He had been detained under mental health laws four times while under the care of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) until his discharge in 2022.
In her witness statement read to the inquiry, Baroness Merron said: 'The department recognises there were failures in provision of care to VC, particularly the lack of oversight of his mental health the year before the attacks. Unacceptably poor, should not have been allowed to happen.' She added that NHFT operates within a broader national framework and that the trust was not solely to blame.
When asked if the government or Department of Health also bore responsibility, the minister said failings 'can sit in many places' and that the intent was not to pass on responsibility but to take it. She cited the inclusion of the Mental Health Bill in the King's Speech as evidence of modernising an 'outdated framework'.
Addressing the bereaved families, Baroness Merron expressed gratitude and respect for their engagement despite 'unimaginable pain'. Sophie Cartwright KC, representing two survivors, said there had been no consultation with surviving victims before the inquiry was announced. The minister acknowledged this was a 'serious omission' and apologised, stating that with hindsight it was not the right way to proceed.
The inquiry continues and will hear its final day of evidence on Friday.
