We must act to fix a broken system – it’s time we prioritise mental health & keep public safe

WHEN I became Health and Social Secretary I declared the NHS broken.

But the families of Barnaby, Grace and Ian are the victims of a broken system in the most traumatic and cruellest of ways.

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Valdo Calocane’s violence took the lives of three innocent people and has ruined so many more.

What is worse, is that with better care this could have been prevented.

Calocane’s crimes exposed holes in a broken system that meant he was able to walk the streets of Nottingham committing this heinous violence.

We know from the Care Quality Commission’s review that at a local level there were unacceptable failings in staffing and leadership.

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And today we’ve learnt of the national improvements that need to be made with the help of government to better ­protect people with serious mental health issues, from themselves and others.

It’s now painfully clear he was discharged too early and there were ­significant failings not to follow up when he did not show up to his meetings with local community mental health teams.

I welcome the improvements the NHS swiftly made in response to the first findings of this review, including tightening ­discharge procedures and improving data collection.

But more must be done.

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The NHS has also ­commissioned an independent investigation into the failures which will be ­published by the end of the year and they will no doubt act on its findings.

It’s also time we prioritise mental health so we will be updating the Mental Health Act to bring care into the 21st century to ensuring that care is appropriate, proportionate and compassionate — while keeping the public safe.

I’ve also spoken to the families of Barnaby, Grace and Ian and reiterated the Prime Minister’s commitment to a judge-led inquiry to ensure accountability.

This government wants to assure itself that no families must go through the unspeakable horror of that day because of ­systemic failings.