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Priory Group

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The Priory Healthcare Logo
Branch of The Priory in Hove

The Priory Group is a provider of mental health care facilities in the United Kingdom. The group operates at more than 500 sites with over 7,000 beds. Its flagship hospital is the Priory Hospital, Roehampton,[1] which is best known for treating celebrities[2] particularly for drug addiction.[3] The Priory Group also manages schools, some for students with autism spectrum disorders through Priory Education and Children’s Services. Some of its facilities are run by its subsidiary Partnerships in Care. In January 2019 it opened its first overseas school in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge.[4]

Ownership

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In 1980 the Priory Hospital in Roehampton was acquired by Community Psychiatric, an American healthcare company,[5] and became the first clinic in what was to become the Priory Group.[6]

The Priory Group was the subject of a management buyout, funded by Mercury Asset Management and several banks, in 1994.[6]

In 2000 Westminster Healthcare Group (a company owned by Dr Chai Patel) acquired Priory Hospitals from the management team and from Mercury Asset Management for £96 million.[7]

In 2002, the company was the subject of another management buyout, this time led by Doughty Hanson & Co, for £289 million.[8] The company was divested to ABN AMRO (later acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group) in July 2005 for £875 million, netting the five company directors over £50 million.[9]

Advent International took control for an aggregate consideration of £925 million in 2011.[10]

In October 2014, former Chief Executive, Tom Riall announced that the group was planning a significant expansion into the mental health community services market and would bid in partnership with “incumbent” NHS providers, an approach that would allow them to come up with new models of care. Anticipating more services to be put out to tender by Clinical commissioning groups, he noted that Priory could contribute "considerable commercial bidding expertise” and become the “overflow provider of choice” for the NHS.[11]

Acadia Healthcare bought the business for £1.3 billion in January 2016[12] and sold it to Waterland Private Equity for £1.1 billion in January 2021. Waterland plans to join it with MEDIAN of Germany "to create Europe’s leading rehabilitation and mental health services provider", especially in neurology and other post-acute services.[13]

In 2022, The Times reported that the healthcare chain faced "spiralling rental bills"[14] for its hospitals after its new owner Waterland agreed an £800 million sale and leaseback deal of 35 Priory healthcare facilities to Medical Hospitals Trust. The group considered increasing prices for care because it anticipates higher costs, including from rents, which are now subject to annual inflation-based escalators.[15]

In 2023, a British Medical Journal research paper found that healthcare provided by private equity-backed companies like the Priory Group was often more expensive and had "mixed to harmful impacts on quality".[16][17]

Performance

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An investigation by The Times found that the number of reported deaths, including those from natural causes, in Priory facilities rose by 50% between 2017 and 2020.[18] In 2021, NHS England, which contracts the Priory for over £400 million in mental health care contracts annually,[19] criticised the group's chief executive for "repeated service failures" and complained that safety had not improved despite meetings with the Priory Group over the preceding two years.[20] In 2022, the Care Quality Commission identified that Priory hospitals faced criticism over the care related to at least 30 patient fatalities.[21]

The director of the INQUEST charity, Deborah Coles, said the "shocking death toll across Priory services continues" with "repeated systemic failings to protect the lives of people" in its care.[22]

After the suicide of a 14-year old girl, Amy El-Keria, funded by the NHS, at the group’s Ticehurst House hospital in East Sussex in 2012, a prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive. The company pleaded guilty to a charge of being an employer failing to discharge its duty to ensure people were not exposed to risk. It faced a fine of at least £2.4 million. The inquest jury found that the staff had failed to dial 999 quickly enough, had failed to call a doctor promptly and were not trained in CPR.[23]

Its hospital in High Wycombe, a 12-bed low-security unit for young people with learning disabilities or autism, which opened in April 2018 was closed in February 2019 after the Care Quality Commission rated it inadequate and said the staff lacked appropriate experience and skills. The company said that it could not recruit "an experienced, settled team of core nursing and clinical staff.”[24] The CQC rated three units run by Priory Group inadequate.[25]

In 2012, a patient went missing from the Priory Roehampton and shortly afterwards stood in front of a train. The Coroner concluded that "there were gross failures in his care, notably the failure to perform basic observations, followed by a deliberate falsification of the record".[26][27]

A teenage patient at the Priory Cheadle Royal Hospital took her own life in her room in 2014. The inquest heard that the hospital had "no coherent policy on how or how regularly observations should be conducted". The coroner wrote to the Priory chief executive to express concern at the "deplorable practice" of inadequate record keeping.[28]

A patient at the Chadwick Lodge mental health unit in Milton Keynes took his own life in 2015 when it was operated by the Priory Group. The coroner concluded that a failure to carry out proper observation checks "may have caused or contributed to his death".[29]

A racehorse owner took his own life just days after being discharged from the Priory North London hospital where he had been sectioned for his own safety in 2018. The inquest found risk assessments were poor, discharge planning was inadequate and there was no crisis plan.[30][31]

In 2018 a coroner at the inquest into the death of a teenage boy at the Priory North London hospital expressed concern at the "really serious failure" of staff to adequately monitor the boy and then falsify logs to appear as though they had. The Care Quality Commission rated safety and leadership on the wards as inadequate and risk management as ineffective.[32]

A retired university lecturer took his own life at the Priory Hospital Altrincham in 2019 and the coroner at his inquest found that staff had written up his observation records to "give the misleading flavour of authenticity".[33] He recommended the standardisation of observations across NHS and private hospitals.[34]

Two Priory hospitals, Kneesworth House in Hertfordshire and Priory Hospital Blandford, were rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission in July 2019. Admissions to Priory Hospital Blandford were suspended “until further notice”. The greatest problems at Kneesworth house were on the forensic wards.[35] Ellingham Hospital, in Attleborough was rated inadequate in November 2019. According to Priory “the fundamental issue . . . was structural: there are simply not enough skilled staff in the region to meet the highly specialised needs of the young people at Ellingham”. 88.2% of its 93 mental healthcare facilities in the UK have received the equivalent of good or better ratings.[36]

In 2020, a detained patient escaped over a garden fence at the Priory Hospital Altrincham and was found dead a few days later. The inquest jury found there was inadequate garden security and risk assessments, and staff failed to follow communication procedures and check essential handover information. The coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Order and noted that the Priory knew that the garden fence was unsafe because previous patients had escaped over it.[37]

A father of three killed himself at the Priory Arnold hospital in September 2020 after hearing voices and becoming fearful of discharge. Before his death, the Priory doctor had dismissed him as "malingering" to get better housing.[38] At the inquest, the Coroner ruled that neglect by the Priory and contributed to his death. He said the case was "one of the worst examples of care provided to a vulnerable, mentally ill patient" and that the care he received was "seriously flawed".[39]

In October 2021, safety problems and the incompetence of hospital staff at the Priory Hospital Kneesworth in Hertfordshire were reported by an undercover journalist in the documentary "Secure Hospital Uncovered (Exposure)" on ITV. [40][41][42]

St John’s House near Diss in Suffolk, a 49-bed hospital for adults living with learning disabilities and associated mental health issues was put in special measures in March 2021 after the Care Quality Commission rated it inadequate and accused staff of failing to ensure patients’ safety or dignity.[43]

In 2021, a female patient discharged herself from the Priory Roehampton hospital and was found dead a few days later. The Coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Order and said "matters of concern" were that the Priory made no follow up appointment; did not contact her family after she left and did not try to contact the patient again for 10 days.[44]

In April 2022, one of the UK’s leading forensic psychiatrists found that the Priory was responsible for two fundamental causes and 29 contributory factors of the death of a 23-year old NHS patient at Priory Hospital Woodbourne in Birmingham.[45] At the inquest, the jury found that the death was "contributed to by neglect" by the Priory and a prevention of future death report was issued by the coroner.[46] Priory Healthcare Ltd was criminally convicted in March 2024 of exposing the patient to serious risk of harm at the Priory Hospital Woodbourne and fined £650,000, the biggest penalty in the company’s history.[47] After sentencing, the patient’s father described the Priory as a "calculating, cruel and fundamentally dangerous company".[48]

On Christmas Day 2022, a woman patient walked out of a secure ward at the Priory Arnold, near Nottingham, and was found dead on farmland on Boxing Day.[49] The inquest jury said there had been 2communication failures from all parties, inadequate risk management, missed opportunities to mitigate absconsion risk and insufficient senior oversight".  The month after the patient’s death, the CQC carried out an unannounced inspection and found care standards "totally unacceptable".[50]

In 2022, a young mother died at the Priory Hospital Woking and the Coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Order. The jury found risk assessments were not performed in line with policy; incomplete observations; little evidence of staff engagement with the patient; therapy notes were not acted upon and there was a lack of continuity in her care.[51]

In 2022, three young women died within two months of each other at the Priory Cheadle Royal hospital, near Manchester.[52] An inquest jury found the first death was "contributed to by neglect" by the hospital.[53] The jury said "serious inconsistencies existed across all levels of management in relation to her care plan" which resulted in the "inadequate care of a highly vulnerable patient." After the second death, the Coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Order and said that there was "an over-reliance by the NHS on independent providers for mental health beds".[54] After the third death the Coroner found that the hospital had given the patient so much medication that it resulted in profound sedation and the loss of her gag reflex.[55] When the Care Quality Commission rated the Priory Cheadle Royal  "inadequate" after the three deaths, Rebekah Cresswell, the Priory Chief Executive, responded saying she "disputed the factual accuracy of many aspects of the report".[56] Less than four months later a fourth young woman died at the same hospital.[57] The jury at her inquest concluded her death was caused by misadventure and the coroner called for urgent changes to mental health provision, warning that "unless something is different, there are going to be more deaths".[58]

In November 2023, Priory Hospital Roehampton was criminally convicted and fined £140,000 for inadequate patient safety measures, which were highlighted following a woman's death under their care.[59] A doctor at the hospital said there had been a "litany of basic errors" in her care and described the ward where she died as an "utter shambles".[60]

Notable patients

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The following is alphabetical list of notable people whom The Priory Group has treated:

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Priory in rehab". The Daily Telegraph. 18 March 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  2. ^ "The Priory offers counselling to pupils". The Daily Telegraph. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  3. ^ "BBC spends £19,000 treating stressed out staff at The Priory". The Daily Telegraph. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  4. ^ "ADEK partners with Priory to open the first dedicated school for children and young people with autism". Priory Group. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  5. ^ "RBS eyes sale of Priory to private equity". The Financial Times. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Gimme shelter". The Guardian. 5 July 1999. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  7. ^ "The Man from the Priory". Management Today. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Priory clinics sold for £288m". BBC. 11 June 2002.
  9. ^ "Doughty Hanson sells Priory Group for £875m". DoughtyHanson.com. 5 July 2005.
  10. ^ "Advent buys The Priory for £925m". The Telegraph. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Priory Group sets sights on community contracts". Local Government Chronicle. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  12. ^ "BC PARTNERS AGREES £320M DEAL FOR 22 PRIORY CLINICS". Insider media. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Waterland to acquire Priory Group in £1.1bn deal". Carehome Professional. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  14. ^ Ralph, Alex (23 July 2024). "Sale and leaseback deal lands Priory Group with soaring rent bills". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  15. ^ Ralph, Alex (23 July 2024). "Inflation-linked rents could force Priory to increase its prices". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  16. ^ Goozner, Merrill (19 July 2023). "Private equity takeovers are harming patients". BMJ. 382: 1396. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1396. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 37468159.
  17. ^ "Private equity groups bet on UK healthcare as NHS waiting lists grow". www.ft.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  18. ^ "The Times view of failures at Priory facilities: Duties of Care". www.thetimes.com. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  19. ^ Caseby, Richard (3 July 2023). "The NHS's mental health review will fail to answer its darkest secret". The Independent.
  20. ^ Tarrant, Billy Kenber, Senior Investigations Reporter | Katie (25 June 2024). "Patients died after catalogue of errors by Priory mental health chain". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 25 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Kenber, Katie Tarrant, Billy (17 November 2023). "'I gave the Priory my sick husband. He never came back'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Priory Healthcare Ltd fined for criminal failings after the death of an NHS patient". Inquest. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Priory faces large fine after death of Amy El-Keria, 14". ITV. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  24. ^ "New hospital to close after 'inadequate' rating". Health Service Journal. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  25. ^ Inspectors discover poor standards at 28 mental health units The Guardian
  26. ^ "Priory clinic compensates widow of patient who died after jumping in front of train". Surrey Comet. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  27. ^ Staff, Agency (26 September 2016). "Family payout for 'gross failures' at Priory mental health clinic". Surrey Live. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Coroner concludes lack of mental health beds a contributory factor in death of 17 year old Sara Green who died whilst an inpatient in a Priory Group hospital". Inquest. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Deaths prompt Priory care concerns. - Clinical Negligence and Catastrophic Injury Solicitors". CNCI. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  30. ^ "Racehorse Owner Mustafa Khan Died After Leaving Priory Hospital". Irwin Mitchell. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  31. ^ Randhawa, Kiran (9 January 2019). "Widow hits out at mental health hospital that sent husband home days before suicide". Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  32. ^ Turriff, Katie Gibbons, Caroline (31 July 2024). "Priory hospital staff forged records after death of patient, 16". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 31 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Nightingale, Annmarie (1 December 2021). "Dr Malcolm Dixon". Garden Court North Chambers. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  34. ^ "Coroner's concerns over man who took his own life at mental health hospital". Messenger Newspapers. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Two private hospitals placed in special measures". Health Service Journal. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  36. ^ "US corporations expand across NHS mental healthcare". Financial Times. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  37. ^ "James Booth: Prevention of future deaths report". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  38. ^ "Gary Mavin: Wife's shock at poor care before suicide death". BBC News. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  39. ^ "GARY MAVIN: PRIORY HOSPITAL'S NEGLECT CONTRIBUTED TO FATHER'S DEATH, INQUEST FINDS". Inquest. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  40. ^ "Extremely concerning incidents reported in Kneesworth House Hospital documentary". Royston Crow. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  41. ^ Taylor, Joanna (26 October 2021). "Convicts at Cambs mental health facility 'signed up to dating apps'". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  42. ^ "Secure Hospital Uncovered (Exposure), ITV documentary". itv.com. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  43. ^ "'Elements of abuse' witnessed at 'inadequate' private hospital". Health Service Journal. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  44. ^ "Amy Henderson: Prevention of future deaths report". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  45. ^ "Written evidence submitted by Mr Richard Caseby (TCS0046)". UK Parliament. January 2024.
  46. ^ Caseby, Richard (15 November 2023). "My son died — the Priory failed him. Now I'm fighting for accountability". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  47. ^ Ahmed, Aneesa (8 March 2024). "Priory healthcare group fined £650,000 over death of patient". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  48. ^ Moodley, Kiran (8 March 2024). "Mental health care provider fined £650k over patient death". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  49. ^ "Nottingham: Woman died after walking out of mental health hospital". BBC News. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  50. ^ "Nottinghamshire: Priory Hospital Arnold ordered to improve or be closed". BBC News. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  51. ^ "Amy Henderson: Prevention of future deaths report". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  52. ^ Slater, Chris (22 October 2023). "Three young women, three tragic deaths, one mental health hospital". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  53. ^ "Neglect contributed to suicide of Beth Matthews, jury concludes | Leigh Day". www.leighday.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  54. ^ "Lauren Bridges: Prevention of future deaths report". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  55. ^ "Deseree Fitzpatrick Inquest: Coroner Finds Inappropriate Medication Regime Caused Patient's Death". Ison Harrison Solicitors. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  56. ^ Fitzgerald, Todd (30 May 2023). "CEO of mental health care firm hits back at critical watchdog report". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  57. ^ Vesty, Helena (4 October 2023). "Another young woman dies at hospital where three died in less than two months". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  58. ^ Scheerhout, John (16 May 2024). "Inquest finds 'misadventure' led to woman's death at Priory unit". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  59. ^ "Priory hospital fined £140k after woman's death". BBC News. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  60. ^ Brown, David (24 July 2024). "The Priory fined after woman killed herself on 'shambolic' ward". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  61. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (16 March 2009). "Decca Aitkenhead Meets Craig Charles". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  62. ^ "Richey Edwards Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  63. ^ Paul Gascoigne; John McKeown; Hunter Davies (2006). Being Gazza: Tackling My Demons. London: Headline Publishing. ISBN 0-7553-1542-1.
  64. ^ "Former Man City star Michael Johnson having treatment after suffering mental illness". Irish Independent. Dublin: Independent News & Media. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  65. ^ "Michael Johnson reveals Priory treatment for mental health problems". The Guardian. London. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  66. ^ "Darkness singer in rehab clinic". BBC News. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
  67. ^ Wallace, Sam (4 January 2017). "Silence from current players over child sex abuse claims has been deafening, says Steve Walters who hopes they can follow lead of Wolves captain Dave Edwards". Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  68. ^ Rees, Jasper (6 April 2010). "Ruby Wax: Losing It". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
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