In response to a critical report on the treatment of Valdo Calocane, the UK government has pledged to pause its proposed reforms to mental health care. This decision follows significant backlash from families affected by the Nottingham attacks, which exposed severe shortcomings in the treatment Calocane received prior to his violent outburst.
Dr. Sanjoy Kumar, whose daughter Grace O’Malley-Kumar was tragically killed in the Nottingham attacks, confirmed that Health Secretary Wes Streeting has committed to slowing down the planned changes to the Mental Health Act. Kumar relayed this development to Sky News, emphasizing the need for a cautious approach to ensure public safety.
“Wes Streeting has assured us that modifications to the Mental Health Act will be delayed,” Kumar said. “He has promised us the opportunity to collaborate with those involved in shaping the law. It is crucial to pause and assess what measures will genuinely protect the public.”
The government’s proposed reforms, outlined in the King’s Speech in July, aim to modernize the Mental Health Act in England and Wales. These changes include revising detention criteria so that individuals can only be detained if they pose a serious risk, and reducing the duration of their detention. Additionally, the reforms are set to enhance patient rights by formally incorporating their involvement in care planning and decision-making.
Kumar stressed that the goal is not to limit individual freedoms but to ensure proper accountability. “It’s about ensuring that clinicians who release dangerous individuals into the community are held accountable if they have not conducted thorough risk assessments,” he explained. “We are hopeful that Wes Streeting will work with us to achieve the right balance.”
Streeting echoed this sentiment, stating his intention to balance the need for individual liberty with the necessity of robust supervision for those deemed high-risk. “The aim is to strike a balance between allowing those who can safely live in the community to do so, and ensuring that individuals like Calocane receive the stringent oversight required to prevent harm to others,” he said.
Calocane, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, committed a series of violent acts on June 13, 2023, in Nottingham. He killed Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates, and severely injured three others by driving a van into pedestrians.
A subsequent Care Quality Commission (CQC) review revealed numerous failings in Calocane’s mental health care, including inadequate risk assessments and a failure to administer depot injections—a slow-release medication—despite his non-compliance with oral medication. The report highlighted that his psychosis impaired his capacity to make informed decisions about his treatment.
Streeting responded to the report by emphasizing his commitment to preventing similar failures in the future. “I am determined to ensure that the shortcomings identified in Nottinghamshire are not repeated elsewhere,” he said. “The findings and recommendations from this report will be used to guide improvements in mental health care nationwide to prevent other families from enduring the same suffering as those affected by this tragedy.”