An inquiry revealed that a former patient of the same NHS trust that treated the Nottingham attacker, Valdo Calocane, was involved in a fatal incident less than a year prior. The incident in August 2022 reportedly included an individual who had previous interactions with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s mental health services.
During the inquiry, it was acknowledged by Paul Devlin, the former chairman of the trust, that there was a missed opportunity to prevent Calocane’s violent actions, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals. Calocane, who was under the trust’s care from 2020 until his discharge in 2022, carried out a brutal attack on two students and a caretaker using a rucksack of weapons on June 13, 2023. He later attempted to harm pedestrians in Nottingham city center using a stolen van.
The inquiry disclosed that another former patient carried out a separate fatal attack in August 2022, although details of the incident were not provided. It was highlighted that the trust’s board failed to take sufficient action following this incident.
The former chairman mentioned that the board was informed of the August 2022 incident in September of that year but had to await the conclusion of a police investigation before conducting its own inquiry. Subsequently, an action plan related to the fatal attack was only approved in May 2025. The inquiry suggested that more proactive measures could have been taken to prevent the tragic events of June 2023, including auditing potentially unsafe discharges.
Calocane, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted murder charges, is currently detained in a secure hospital indefinitely. The inquiry is ongoing to investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents.