Wayne Birkett warns ‘nothing’s changed’ after watchdog found failings in killer Valdo Calocane’s mental health care
A survivor of the 2023 Nottingham attacks has said a similar incident could happen again without improvements to mental health services in the region.
Wayne Birkett criticised the lack of changes at the Nottinghamshire healthcare NHS foundation trust, which was responsible for Valdo Calocane’s mental health care between May 2020 and September 2022, and called on the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to directly intervene.
Calocane killed Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19 and students, and Ian Coates, 65, a caretaker, in a frenzied attack in the early hours of 13 June 2023. After the fatal stabbings, Calocane drove a van into Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski, leaving all three with severe and life-changing injuries.
Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks, was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.
