Mind responds to the Nottingham Inquiry's closing remarks
On Wednesday 9th September, the Nottingham Inquiry gave its closing remarks.
Mind provided evidence to the Nottingham Inquiry, driven by a commitment for a mental health system that keeps the public safe and avoids people in the most vulnerable situations from falling through the cracks.
Our evidence, showed that:
• The current mental health system is not doing enough to support people with serious mental illness.
• When people are failed repeatedly and family concerns ignored we have to knowledge the potential of violence as a risk factor.
• There is a lack of proactive outreach services for people who do not engage with mental health services, meaning they risk falling through the cracks.
• A lack of culturally competent care means that people from minoritised backgrounds often aren’t getting the support they need before reaching crisis point.
Mind recently held a panel event with a range of sector experts to have an honest and open conversation on the topic of violence and mental health. The organisation is calling for the sector to have more open discussions on this topic to ensure that people can get the support they need before they reach crisis point.
Following the Nottingham Inquiry’s closing remarks on Wednesday 09 September 2026, Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of Mind said:
"This Inquiry has shown that the current mental health system is failing patients, families and the public.
“When someone disengages from services, warning signs can be missed and risks escalate. In those moments, mental health and statutory services need to respond decisively. As the inquiry has heard, that depends on strong coordination, sound judgement, and the capacity to act, but we keep seeing devastating failures of care and families left without any support. This needs to change.
“We also must acknowledge how we keep asking staff to do their jobs in woefully underfunded and difficult environments. Mental health professionals need the time to build trusted and therapeutic relationships with people who are unwell, which is critical to preventing them from reaching a point of crisis in the first place.
“For people who are acutely unwell, we need to make sure they have consistency in their care – not bounced around from place to place and service to service. Ensuring public safety and doing what is right for patients should go hand in hand. This inquiry must be an opportunity to change our mental health system so that tragedies like what happened in Nottingham never happens again.”
