Mental health calls after killing

James Fortey was stabbed five times as he was decorating a house

Mental health services in Wales need to be improved says a leading charity, after a review of the case of a mentally ill man who killed a friend.

Members of Hafal says this would reduce the risk to the public, after an inquiry into the care of Kevin Price.

Price, 45, knocked close friend James Fortey, 44, off a ladder and stabbed him five times in Newport in 2007.

The Health Inspectorate Wales said the death could have been avoided if errors in Price's care had not been made.

Around one in 30 people will suffer a serious mental illness in their lifetime. About 100,000 people in Wales will be affected.

Hafal's members share the public's interest in reducing the risk and the way to do this is to improve mental health services in Wales. David England, Hafal

Wales mental health charity Hafal's public affairs manager David England said: "The incidence of homicide by someone suffering a serious mental illness is still very rare in Wales, averaging perhaps two or three per annum.

"In England and Wales there are about 700 homicides each year of all types and about one homicide per week is committed by a person with a serious mental illness.

"Hafal's members, who themselves suffer serious mental illness, and their families share the public's interest in reducing the risk and the way to do this is to improve mental health services in Wales."

Mr Fortey was decorating a house in Newport in August 2007 when mental patient Price grabbed him from the ladder and plunged a blade into his heart and lungs.

The HIW's independent inquiry into Price's healthcare said the killing could have been avoided if Price "had been engaged more assertively in his treatment".

Risk assessments

The report highlighted ineffective leadership and management systems and found that risk assessments were not reviewed.

Price was in the care of the Gwent NHS Trust, which has now been replaced by the Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

He was ordered to be detained indefinitely after a court case in December 2007 where he admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Earlier this month Jarvis Ford, 48, was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after admitting the manslaughter of his mother Margaret, 84, in May.

Ford, who had a long history of mental health problems, stabbed her to death after she banned him from smoking in their home in Templeton near Narberth, Pembrokeshire.