Attack Could Have Been Prevented

London:

The guardians of a British Indian medical learner who was fatally stabbed with her companion in Nottingham last year stated on Tuesday that the assault could have been averted if the attacker’s psychological well-being had been handled correctly by the healthcare professionals treating him.

Grace O’Malley Kumar, 19, was heading back to her college with her pal Barnaby Webber, also 19, when confronted by knife-wielding Valdo Calocane.

An examination by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which oversees healthcare facilities in England, highlighted “a sequence of mistakes, exclusions, and miscalculations” by mental health services regarding Calocane.

“I am confident in saying that if this individual had received treatment and complied with it, this entire assault could have been avoided,” Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace, told the BBC.

He has united with the impacted families to request a “legal public inquiry supervised by a magistrate” to support in improving the situation.

“We must direct our attention to Nottingham initially and assimilate from the shortcomings because these systems are consistent nationwide,” he stated.

In the aftermath of the stabbings in June last year, Caloane – in his 30s – acknowledged guilt for manslaughter which resulted in his being confined to a high-security hospital under a mental health order.

The CQC examination was authorized by the former health secretary, Victoria Atkins, into the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) – the healthcare organization that managed his treatment between May 2020 and September 2022.

“He displayed symptoms of psychosis and seemed to have limited comprehension or acceptance of his condition. Challenges with him adhering to his medication were also documented early on. This examination reveals that there seem to have been a sequence of errors, exclusions, and miscalculations in his care,” the report reveals.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that the administration and Attorney General were “actively contemplating” the most effective way to establish an inquiry.

In a collaborative statement in reaction to the CQC report, the families of the victims said: “This report showcases severe, systemic breakdowns in the mental health trust in their interactions with Calocane, from start to finish.

“Medical professionals involved at every phase of Calocane’s care must shoulder a substantial responsibility for their failings and poor decision-making. Regrettably, this is merely the first of what we anticipate to be a series of damning reports concerning shortcomings by public bodies leading up to and following the deaths of our loved ones. Alongside the Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire police forces, these entities and individual specialists have the guilt of negligence.”

Grace O’Malley Kumar was a medical student who was on her way back to Nottingham University with Barnaby Webber when Calocane fatally wounded them and then proceeded to kill school custodian Ian Coates nearby before being apprehended. Calocane was sentenced in January to a Hospital Order with a Restriction Order under Sections 37 and 41 of the UK Mental Health Act 1983.

An examination into the “excessively lenient” sentencing grievances in the case earlier this year suggested for the administration to contemplate reclassifying homicide.

“Progress is being made gradually, and we will persist in our battle to guarantee full organizational and individual responsibility for the dreadful occurrences of 13 June 2023. We will also strive to ensure that suitable adjustments and enhancements to our systems and laws are enacted, so as to prevent a catastrophe of this magnitude from ever occurring again,” the victims’ families appended in their collective statement.