IN the last ten years a number of reports have been produced around the country after killings by people who were undergoing treatment for mental health problems.

The reports have been prompted by the worry that those physically responsible for the deaths should not have been in a position to carry them out.

They have highlighted breakdowns in treatment - people who stopped taking tablets - and breakdowns in communication between different agencies. Some, like a tragic case in Darwen a few years ago, also pinpointed insufficient contact with the families of patients.

Today we have another report, this time commissioned by Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust, after Anthony Rigby was fatally shot in the head by 19-year-old Mark Harrington.

Mark had been suffering severe mental illness and receiving out-patient treatment at Queen's Park Hospital psychiatric unit for a number of years.

The independent report lists 29 recommendations and comes with apologies for the tragedy and a pledge that the trust will "learn all we can from this tragic event and do all we can to reduce the possibility of similar events happening again".

For too long mental health has been a Cinderella service in the NHS - not a sexy focus for spending.

There has to be a sea change in attitudes and a recognition that we cannot go on having to read such reports in the aftermath of horrific killings.