Southport killer Axel Rudakubana's teacher warned NHS of 'serious safeguarding concerns'
Axel Rudakubana's deputy headteacher had emailed the autism service warning them about her grave concerns including an incident where the teen was found searching school shootings online
Southport killer Axel Rudakubana's autism assessment was delayed by eight months, despite a teacher pleading with the NHS for help, amid 'serious safeguarding concerns'.
Rudakubana's deputy headteacher warned health professionals that he had been searching school shootings online in the same month he was referred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for a diagnosis.
But the teenager waited 45 weeks for an assessment from the point of being referred in November 2019, an inquiry into the atrocity was told yesterday (Tuesday).
Lynsey Boggan, clinical lead of neurodevelopmental services at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said the average waiting time for such an appointment was 11 weeks.
Joanne Hodson, deputy head teacher of the Acorns School where Rudakubana was a student, had emailed the paediatric service to voice her concern.
She wrote: "I really need some help with a referral for a young man who is presenting to us as ASD."
Referring to an incident where Rudakubana had taken a knife into his old school, she added: "I asked him about the incident at his admissions meeting and he was monotone, emotionless and very matter of fact about his intentions."
She said they had "serious safeguarding concerns" and Rudakubana was fixating on another student in his class whom he said was bullying him, although staff had seen no evidence of that.
She added: "During his ICT lesson Axel was searching school shootings in America. Dad was informed of this but then rang back and said it was untrue."
The following month the teacher emailed the service again to "advise of further developments and concerns".
She outlined a number of incidents, including Rudakubana asking a teacher for a picture of a severed head and speaking about people getting murdered.
Ms Boggan, who was not working for Alder Hey at the time, said she had not been able to find any records of a response to the school.
She said she would have expected the emails to trigger a prioritisation of Rudakubana's case, but said at the time there was not a process for expediting cases.
She agreed the delay in his autism assessment was a "marked shortcoming".
Rudakubana was diagnosed as autistic in December 2020 and was recommended for an ADHD assessment.
Ms Boggan said she took part in a video call with Rudakubana and his father in which his diagnosis was explained to him.
She said: "I was aware that there were some incidents where he had harmed other people and I think that was why we went around it so sensitively in terms of how we delivered the news."
The inquiry heard an assessment by the forensic child and adolescent mental health service (FCAMHS), which works with young people with high-risk behaviour, was not done because they were awaiting the result of the autism referral.
But Ms Boggan said letters from FCAMHS were not put onto the record so the autism service was unaware of them.
She said she would have expected CAMHS to re-refer him to the forensic service after his diagnosis.
Rudakubana is serving a 52-year life sentence for his murderous knife attack on a dance class full of little girls last year.
The inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall continues.