Inquiry: Hospital Missed Hammer Warning

A public inquiry into the actions of Valdo Calocane, who murdered three individuals, has revealed that he brought a hammer onto a hospital ward after being sectioned. Calocane, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was admitted to the privately-run Priory Hospital in Nottinghamshire in October 2021. During his stay, he presented staff with a hammer, claiming he needed it for a new property. Although staff were skeptical of this explanation, his consultant, Dr. Ajith Gurusinghe, deemed it "not the right time" to challenge him, and the incident was not documented.

This lack of documentation and further questioning was later admitted as a failure by Dr. Gurusinghe. The inquiry also heard that the Priory Hospital facility was operating under "special measures" imposed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) around the time of Calocane's admission. Subsequent inspections found safety to be an ongoing issue, with the service ultimately rated "inadequate" by the CQC in December 2021, after Calocane's discharge.

Calocane was sectioned a total of four times between 2020 and 2022 and was discharged from mental health services in September 2022, nine months prior to the fatal attacks on June 13, 2023. During his admission, he was allowed periods of leave in the community, and on one occasion returned with a cut on his nose, attributed to a fall, which was not further investigated.