The Nottingham attack victims “might still be alive” today if “the NHS had been there when it should have been”, the Health Secretary has said.
Wes Streeting said the deaths of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates at the hands of killer Valdo Calocane in June last year “could have been prevented and should have been prevented”.
He also said the Prime Minister is “actively considering” how best to set up a judge-led inquiry into the case.
Mr Streeting was reacting to the final report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into the care of Calocane by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT).
It found risk assessments played down the fact he was refusing to take his medication and was having ongoing and persistent symptoms of psychosis.
It also questions how well the trust engaged with Calocane’s family, who raised concerns about his mental state, along with how well his discharge was planned.
Mr Streeting told Sky News: “What the Care Quality Commission have uncovered is deeply distressing.
“Most of all for the families of Grace, Barnaby and Ian, who, in addition to having to deal with the unbearable and unimaginable grief they’re going through, are doing so in the knowledge that this could have been prevented and should have been prevented.
“That there wasn’t a single point of failure, but multiple and fundamental failures on the part of the NHS to manage Valdo Calocane’s treatment in a way that not only kept him safe, but most importantly, kept others safe.”
He added that the three victims may still be alive “if the NHS had been there when it should have been”.
Mr Streeting said: “The tragedy is – and I can’t imagine, even having met families on a number of occasions now – I can’t imagine the unbearable grief they are going through, let alone to contemplate going through that grief knowing that these deaths were preventable if the NHS had been there when it should have been.
“Had that happened, Grace, Barnaby and Ian might still be alive. And that is a hard truth that the country has to face up to, and those poor families are having to grieve through.”
The families of Calocane’s victims have said the CQC report “demonstrates gross, systematic failures” and also accused services caring for him in the lead-up to the attacks as having “blood on their hands”.
Mr Streeting said he “totally understands” the accusation.
“The hard truth here – which is, I think, hard for the whole country to hear, let alone me – is that had the NHS done its job, had there not been multiple fundamental failures, three innocent people might still be alive,” he added.
“That’s why I totally understand why they’ve accused the NHS of having blood on its hands.”
The families of Calocane’s victims said they have had confirmation that an inquiry into the case will happen following meetings with Mr Streeting and Attorney General Richard Hermer.
They said: “The final form of the inquiry is yet to be determined, but we families urge that it must be a statutory, judge-led one.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is now “actively considering” how best to set up a judge-led inquiry into the case, Mr Streeting told Sky News.
He added: “There were so many failures that the families of the victims have had to suffer since these appalling homicides.
“That’s why the Prime Minister is now actively considering how that judge-led inquiry can best operate to deliver the answers and the accountability the families need.”
