NHS admits that road rage killing could have been prevented with proper treatment

The NHS has admitted that a ferocious road rage murder could have been prevented had it listened to warnings from the killer’s family and provided proper treatment for his psychosis.

Matthew Daley killed Donald Lock, a 79-year-old great grandfather, after a minor car collision on the A24 near Worthing, stabbing him up to 39 times with a hunting knife.

But a damning report has revealed that Daley, 35, had never been fully assessed for his mental health problems and that his carers had deemed a string of previous violent assaults matters for the police, rather than linking them directly to his illness.

His girlfriend had expressed concerns that he could kill someone and his father had warned he “could end up seriously injuring someone or worse” unless he received proper medication and treatment.

Daley, who was convicted of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and jailed for life, had been under the care of the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for seven years, during which time he displayed increasingly violent behaviour.

He repeatedly told his carers that he was not taking his medication and long periods of time were allowed to lapse between his appointments.

Despite being treated for autism, the Trust never undertook a full assessment to establish the diagnosis, which led to a “flawed set of assumptions” as to how to manage his treatment, the investigation found.

On three occasions prior to the July 2015 killing, one of Daley’s carers noted that he believed his antisocial behaviour was a matter for the police and the criminal justice system.

He told the police he did not believe that “medication could play a substantial part as the assaults are not always related to psychotic symptoms, but problems with social interaction.”

The report concludes: “It is our view that had (Daley) been in receipt of effective therapy starting at any stage between 2008 and 2015 the tragic death of Mr Lock may have been avoided.”

It said “the root cause” of the retired solicitor’s brutal killing lay in the Trust’s failure to ensure that robust assessments were undertaken. It said that by deeming his violence matters for the police, Daley had been denied the opportunity to receive appropriate treatment.

“It is our view that there was clear evidence that (Daley’s) levels of violence had increased such that serious harm to others was increasingly likely,” it added.

Sam Allen, chief executive of the Sussex Partnership Trust, apologised to the families of both Mr Lock and Mr Daley, acknowledging that it should have acted differently in relation to his treatment.

“In particular, we were treating him for Autistic Spectrum Disorder but today’s report highlights that we had never undertaken a full, formal assessment to establish this diagnosis.” he said.

“We didn’t attach sufficient weight to his psychotic symptoms or his non-compliance with medication.

“We then failed to listen to the concerns of Matthew’s family and to undertake a clinical review of his care. As a consequence, we missed the opportunity to explore other treatment options such as therapy or hospital admission.”

Daley’s family told Lewes Crown Court at trial that they had spent a decade trying to get appropriate treatment but had been ignored by doctors.

His mother wept as she revealed that just days before the attack she feared something terrible would happen.

The judge, Mr Justice Singh, criticised the “systematic arrogance” of the NHS and called on the authorities to “learn appropriate lessons for the future.

The jury cleared Daley of murder and found him guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility. He was jailed for life.