Mind chief says mental health groups have failed to acknowledge risk of violence

Dr. Sarah Hughes, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, has stated that mental health organizations have failed to acknowledge the risk of violence from a minority of people with severe mental illnesses. Speaking ahead of the closure of the inquiry into the June 2023 Nottingham attacks, where Valdo Calocane fatally stabbed three people, Hughes argued that charities have avoided the topic to prevent stigma. Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby was killed, welcomed the statement.

Mind chief acknowledges violence risk

• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, stated that mental health organizations have failed to acknowledge the risk of violence from a minority of people with severe mental illnesses.
• ▪Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby Webber was killed in the June 2023 Nottingham attacks, welcomed the statement by Mind chief executive Dr. Sarah Hughes and stated that the danger to others had been almost deliberately quietened down in past conversations.
• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, stated that efforts to reduce stigma have at times meant that difficult topics like violence have been brushed under the carpet.

Nottingham attacks inquiry findings

• ▪The public inquiry into the June 13, 2023 Nottingham attacks has examined evidence from local authorities, health professionals, police officers, and Valdo Calocane's family to assess the events leading to the killings.
• ▪During her evidence to the public inquiry in May 2026, Valdo Calocane's mother, Celeste Calocane, described the mental health system as being so broken.

Calocane case background

• ▪On June 13, 2023, 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, were fatally stabbed in Nottingham by Valdo Calocane.
• ▪In the years before the June 2023 Nottingham attacks, Valdo Calocane committed a string of violent incidents, repeatedly refused to take medication, and was sectioned four times in the space of two years.
• ▪Valdo Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, was sentenced in 2024 to an indefinite hospital order after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.

Mental health sector reluctance

• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes stated that mental health charities have shied away from addressing the risk of violence because they feared it would increase stigma, discrimination, and harassment around people with mental health conditions.
• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes noted that there was internal reluctance even within the charity Mind to discuss the risk of violence, requiring the organization to talk the issue through internally.

Schizophrenia violence research

• ▪Seena Fazel, a professor of forensic psychiatry at the University of Oxford, stated that people with schizophrenia have an elevated risk of violence compared with the general population, though the absolute risk is small and only a minority commit serious violent acts.
• ▪Professor Seena Fazel stated that the risk of violence in people with schizophrenia increases when other factors are present, particularly drug or alcohol problems, a history of violence, or having been a victim of violence.

Mental health system reform

• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes stated that the UK government's upcoming mental health strategy must improve support and treatment for those with severe mental illnesses, address public safety, and ensure adequate hospital beds and assertive outreach.
• ▪Dr. Sarah Hughes stated that patient safety and public safety are not mutually exclusive and both are possible if the mental health system is changed so people can get the right care before or after reaching crisis point.

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