Warning as mental health crisis means public are at risk from more killers like Valdo Calocane

THE mental health crisis means the public are at risk from more killers like Valdo Calocane, campaigners warn.

One in four NHS and private services are sub-standard, Care Quality Commission reports reveal.

Some 226 out of 875 were rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement”.

Just two thirds were “good” and eight per cent were “outstanding” in 2023.

It means thousands of patients with potentially severe mental illness are getting sub-par care.

Calocane stabbed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, to death in Nottingham last June after the NHS failed to keep his paranoid schizophrenia under control.

Campaigners warned it could happen again.

Founder of mental health homicide charity Hundred Families Julian Hendy said: “This is clearly a risk to the public. I am worried about people falling through the cracks of inadequate services — it’s happening all the time.

“Most people are not violent but we need to be sure patients, the public and families are safe.”

A review of Calocane’s treatment at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust published this week said nationwide change is urgently needed.

It follows the CQC’s State of Care report last year which said 40 per cent of clinics were not up to scratch on keeping patients safe.

An estimated eight million people who need mental health help do not get it, it added.

It called for NHS England to draw up better plans for treating people with schizophrenia.

Mark Winstanley, of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “We can’t ignore this any longer — not just for the people with mental health problems, but also to keep the public safe.”