“It’s like starting life again,” says Wayne Birkett, who suffered life-changing injuries in a killing spree which left three people stabbed to death.
“I’ve had to learn to read and write and use a phone.”
Now, he’s decided to speak out as a public inquiry approaches.
“Someone’s got to take the blame for this man coming out, killing them poor students and poor Ian Coates, and then trying to kill me, Sharon and Marcin,” he says.
“Someone’s got to take the blame for it. Simple.”
Valdo Calocane was under the care of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in the years leading up to his attack in June 2023.
Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar – both 19 – and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, and three counts of attempted murder after using Mr Coates’s van to drive into three pedestrians – Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller.
Wayne says he can’t remember anything about the attack or life before Calocane mowed him down.
‘Every day I forget what I did yesterday’
He says that after the incident, he would meet people and not remember that he had known them all his life.
The former forklift truck driver explains: “I can say it’s like hell. My body – I can’t sleep. My legs, my feet, my back, constant headaches. Dizziness all the time.
“It’s just everything upside down. I can’t work. Every day I forget what I did yesterday.”
I ask Wayne how he feels towards his attacker. “I don’t like to say – if you don’t mind,” he replies.
Between May 2024 and August 2025, the CQC carried out 39 inspections at the Nottinghamshire trust, before a review of its leadership was carried out last September.
The resulting report said the trust was found to have breached regulations about how it was managed and, following the inspections, it had been asked to provide an action plan.
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‘Something needs to be done’
Seven of its 18 services were rated as requiring improvement, including five mental health services.
Referring to his attacker, Wayne says: “I’m very angry with the man, obviously. He should be in prison or more severe. I think a lot more money needs to be spent on the NHS.
“But now I think something needs to be done because somebody else is going to die soon, very soon.”
Wayne has a meeting planned with Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Ahead of the public inquiry, he says: “I’d like to see people held responsible.”
A report found failings in Calocane’s care may have contributed to the tragic events after he was discharged from the trust’s mental health services.
Serious shortcomings were found, including Calocane being discharged too early and failings in follow-ups when he evaded contact with the community mental health team.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare says it has made significant improvements and will be addressing all areas identified in the CQC’s report.
The public inquiry will examine the actions not just of the NHS but also other institutions such as the police, social services, the council, and the Crown Prosecution Service.
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‘Enough’s enough’
Greg Almond, partner at Rothera Bray Solicitors, said: “The CQC report itself is a continuation of many red flags that have been there for years before. And the fact that it’s still exactly the same, we’re calling on the government now to take action – enough’s enough.”
Mr Almond added: “Mental health services in Nottinghamshire – there are too many safety risks in terms of failure to risk assess, a lack of understanding about mental health acts and legislation.
“That’s obviously very dangerous for the public and the Nottingham public, and so that’s why we’re saying that the government needs to take charge now for the leadership to be restructured and intervention.
“I think it’s got to the point where we’re very close to the start of the inquiry, and Wayne wants to speak out. He wants to be heard, and he doesn’t want to be forgotten about. Its important survivors are heard, and their voice is recognised.
“When you heard the latest CQC report is saying that nothing really has changed, then that’s a concern, so this is why it’s a watershed moment for the people of Nottinghamshire, and it obviously has bigger implications for the mental health provision within the NHS.”
