by Keith Hunt and Suz Elvey

A mental health nurse who was repeatedly stabbed as he fought to save a colleague being attacked by a patient has spoken publicly of the experience for the first time after being rewarded for his “incredible bravery”.

Father-of-four Julius Falomo, 50, was knifed 14 times by rampaging psychiatric patient Myha Grant at the Bracton Centre secure unit in Dartford in July last year.

Mr Falomo almost died but his actions saved the life of nurse Francis Barrett and, on Friday, he was given a High Sheriff’s Award by High Sheriff of Kent George Jessel.

Speaking exclusively to our sister papers the Gravesend and Dartford Messengers, Mr Falomo, who graduated as a nurse three months after the attack and still works at the unit, said: “I was in the office when I heard my colleague screaming ‘help, help, help’.

“I ran out of the office and I saw Francis on the floor with the patient on top of him. I thought the patient was punching him with his hand.

“I went to press my alarm but the minute the patient saw me he ran towards me. He started stabbing me. I was scared because it was a big knife and I knew no one would be able to stop him and help me.

“When he started stabbing me I couldn’t do anything. I thought I was going to die.

“He only stopped because he thought I was dead. He left me for dead.”

Mr Falomo was stabbed in his chest, stomach, groin, shoulder, left arm, left buttock and right elbow and was “virtually dead” when flown by air ambulance to King’s College Hospital in London. He lost more than 30% of his blood, which could have been fatal.

He was left unconscious and has vague recollections of another colleague calling his name.

Remarkably, Mr Falomo said he briefly gained consciousness, stood up, and tried to walk out of the room but collapsed almost immediately.

That was the last thing he remembered until he woke up in hospital.

"He only stopped because he thought I was dead. He left me for dead" - Julius Falomo

Grant, 31, stabbed Mr Barrett six times with a knife staff had been using to prepare lunch.

After attacking the two workmates, he set fire to a room at the unit, which is run by Oxleas NHS Foundation, and threw his blood-stained clothes and the knife into the flames.

Another colleague dragged Mr Falomo outside while fellow employees smashed a window to rescue a woman trapped in the smoke-filled room.

Mr Falomo added: “The flashbacks keep coming but I’m getting better now. I’ve had counselling. My colleagues have been supportive and my family are wonderful. I still have that feeling of being a bit scared when I’m in the unit but I want to move on with my life.”

Police officers who responded to the attack have also been given awards for their bravery.

Myha Grant, who was in the unit after an unprovoked assault with a champagne bottle on a pedestrian in Brixton High Street, stabbed Mr Barrett six times in the chest and abdomen.

The paranoid schizophrenic, from Streatham, south London, admitted two offences of wounding with intent and one of arson.

He also admitted causing grievous bodily harm in the bottle attack on June 2 last year. The victim was knocked unconscious.

Judge Jeremy Carey in February ordered Grant’s detention in hospital under the Mental Health Act.

If his condition improves he will have to serve a 16-year jail sentence and be on licence for a further three years under an extended sentence.

The judge told Julius Falomo: “You didn’t run away. To the contrary, you went to help your colleague and probably saved his life. But in doing so you were attacked with a knife and sustained the most appalling injuries and could yourself have been killed. Mercifully, you were not.

“You had some terrible wounds and you have made something of a recovery. To say that this was a brave action is really something of an understatement, and in it is undoubtedly worthy of a High Sheriff’s Award.

“Your family must be hugely proud of you and extremely supportive. We are full of admiration.”

Julius Falomo, from Erith, who attended court for the award with his wife Titilayo, 48, and daughter Bukola, said he was proud to receive the honour.

He said at the ceremony: “This is the first recognition I have had since the incident. I wondered at the time if I made a mistake.

“But when you hear your colleague screaming you need to react. I didn’t realise what was going on, even when he was stabbing me. I didn’t feel it.”

Presenting a framed certificate and a financial award, High Sheriff of Kent George Jessel said: “It is down to people like yourself that make this country great. A lot of people would have walked or run away, or got out of the situation. You should be very proud.

“I am an ex-Army officer and, I have to be honest, I have not been in a combat situation.
“But it strikes me there are a lot of people unlike you that would have taken a different action.

“You should be incredibly proud of yourself. I know at the time you probably didn’t think the situation would escalate to that, but you stuck it out."