Nottingham NHS Workers Discharged Valdo Calocane Months Before Killings, Inquiry Hears

A man with paranoid schizophrenia was discharged from mental health services months before he killed three people because healthcare workers stated they could not locate him. This information emerged during a public inquiry investigating the Nottingham killings.

Valdo Calocane had been under the care of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for two years. During this period, he was sectioned on four occasions, and warnings were reportedly issued about his potential to cause harm.

The decision to discharge Calocane was made in September 2022 after he failed to attend appointments or make contact. Emma Robinson, a team leader with the Trust, testified, "We couldn't work with him, we couldn't find him at this point." Months later, on 13 June 2023, Calocane killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates in Nottingham.

The Nottingham Inquiry heard that the Trust's Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) service discharged Calocane because he did not respond to attempts at engagement. Mr Calocane's care co-ordinator, Gary Carter, reportedly visited his address, made phone calls, and sent a letter, all of which went unanswered.

Tim Moloney KC, representing the bereaved families, questioned Ms Robinson on whether the risk to the public was considered, particularly given that EIP staff would not visit Calocane alone at home unless absolutely necessary. Ms Robinson responded, "We did consider that, but we felt that within the time of decision we had no holding powers, we couldn't work with him, we couldn't find him at this point."

The inquiry learned that Calocane’s last contact with the EIP team was a phone call on 16 July, during which he falsely claimed to be abroad. When asked by Mr Moloney if the service had "lost him," Ms Robinson confirmed, "Yes." She further elaborated that discharging him seemed the only option as they "couldn't find him to treat him or engage him." Ms Robinson suggested that Calocane required a "more robust service" than early intervention could offer.

Mr Moloney contended that by discharging Calocane to his GP, the Trust effectively "left him to the general public to deal with." Ms Robinson countered, "It's not uncommon for us to discharge non-engaging patients, unfortunately, at that time. I think things are very different now."

In a statement submitted to the inquiry, Ms Robinson reflected on past concerns: "I used to think sometimes - is it worse to have somebody open on caseloads that you're not engaging with? Should we be discharging them instead?" She clarified that it felt "safer to have somebody discharged back to the queue of the GP, than open to a secondary service when we can't engage them, or we can't do anything for them."

The inquiry chairwoman, retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC, noted that Calocane's GP received "very little information" upon his discharge. Ms Robinson accepted this assessment, with Sophie Cartwright KC, representing the survivors, labelling the discharge letter "wholly inadequate." Furthermore, the Trust did not inform Nottinghamshire Police that Calocane had been discharged from its services.

Sharon Heath, who later became the EIP south team leader, requested the discharge letter for Calocane's GP, anticipating that critical documents such as a risk assessment and care plan would be included. These documents were never sent and would have been out of date regardless, Ms Heath confirmed to the inquiry.