The Southport Enquiry

It's the press reporting it wrongly, not the Inquiry. But NAS need to do something about this. Rumours spread far too easily in social media and people love a scapegoat and a 'cause'. The whole thing about such cases is upsetting, because time and again the facts have been known for years, yet nothing has been done to improve trace systems and flag up potentially dangerous individuals. Don't be upset - it's not a slur on the whole community, but a careless reporter making assumptions and writing badly. The really blameworthy are those who set up the recording and reporting systems in the NHS.

It's the press reporting it wrongly, not the Inquiry. But NAS need to do something about this. Rumours spread far too easily in social media and people love a scapegoat and a 'cause'. The whole thing about such cases is upsetting, because time and again the facts have been known for years, yet nothing has been done to improve trace systems and flag up potentially dangerous individuals. Don't be upset - it's not a slur on the whole community, but a careless reporter making assumptions and writing badly. The really blameworthy are those who set up the recording and reporting systems in the NHS.

I agree Marianne, I'd hate to see ND people put at even more of a disadvantage than we are already. From what I read of the case at the time and now from this inquiry, isn't so much that his autism was a cause, but that so many agenicies failed. Although that being said, agencies get set up with a purpose, like Prevent, which focus's on deradicalising people who are being influenced by terrorist ideology, they're not set up to help those with no idealogy, but are dangerously violent or potentially violent.

Personally I think we need a serious rethink about whether we hospitalise some with serious mental health conditions and not opt for "care in the community" which is something we've seen fail time and again. It's not just those who are a harm to others, but those who are more of a danger to themselves, which many seem to be, nobody seems to take the families of mental health patients seriously enough either, they often know the person far better than the professionals. I talso can't be right that GP's have so little power to section someone, they can try and ask someone to attend a mental health clinic, but can't make them, despite knowing that they're highly likely to harm themselves or someone else.

This is a horrible case, where so many people were failed by to many systems.