Nottingham attack families fear ‘further disasters’ after CQQ report into Valdo Calocane
Families of three people killed by a schizophrenic man in Nottingham have slammed an NHS trust for treating it as “unsafe”, demanding special measures after a critical report into mental health services.
Following the publication of an inspection of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on Wednesday, relatives of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates expressed a “real fear” that “further disaster is inevitable”.
Valdo Calocane, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, killed Mr Webber and Miss O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and carer Mr Coates, 65, and attempted to kill three more people in Nottingham last June.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report criticized the trust’s mental health services, which treated Calocane from May 2020 to September 2022, for failing to always provide “humane, dignified or high-quality care” to patients.
Between May 2024 and August 2025, CQC carried out 39 inspections at the trust before a trust-wide review of its leadership last September.
The report stated that the foundation was found to be in violation of regulations regarding how it was managed and was asked to submit an action plan.
The CQC said: “Due to the level and nature of the risks identified, we have taken enforcement action and asked the trust to make significant improvements and work collaboratively with key stakeholders across the wider health system to support significant recovery.”
Seven of its 18 services were rated as requiring improvement, including five mental health services.
The families of Mr Webber, Ms O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates said in a statement: “This report confirms what families have feared for far too long: this trust is not safe and special measures should be taken immediately.
“Families have lost all confidence that this will learn on its own. There is a real fear that if this is allowed to continue unaltered, more harm and more disaster will be inevitable.
“This is no longer about recovery plans or assurances. This is about emergency response, utmost accountability and the protection of lives.”
Greg Almond, partner at Rothera Bray Solicitors, who represented assault survivors Wayne Birkett and Sharon Miller, said there were “significant and glaring problems” in Nottinghamshire’s mental health services.
He said in a statement: “The report recognizes that the trust has been under significant scrutiny following the attack. Despite this, CQC concludes that significant and outstanding problems remain in mental health services in Nottinghamshire.”
“This is a deeply worrying assessment for survivors who deserve to have confidence in mental health provisions in Nottinghamshire, and they cannot help feeling that nothing is being done to prevent a recurrence.”
Ifti Majid, chief executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare, said: “We accept the CQC’s findings and recognize where improvements are needed.
“We have already made significant progress since CQC’s last inspection but we recognize there is still more to do. We will address all areas identified in the report.”
The events leading to the murders of Mr Webber, Ms O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates will be examined in a public inquiry from February.
