Care in the community was “not at the place where we want it to be”, resulting in the NHS having to pay for private mental health care beds, he said.
The Priory representative said 84% of its services were rated good or better by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which was “above the national average for equivalent services, including those in the NHS”.
They said they acknowledged the “cleanliness” of wards was “an important part of providing safe and therapeutic environments” and significant investments had been made in the last five years.
They said since the most recent CQC inspection in 2023, the Priory had introduced a “live” maintenance system to ensure any issues were addressed quickly.
“We aim to support all patients in the least restrictive manner possible,” they said.
The Priory also pointed to its most recent CQC report which stated: “Staff were aware of least restrictive practice and applied blanket restrictions on children and young person’s freedom only when this was justified.”
To respect the young woman’s wish for anonymity, the has agreed to refer to her in this article as Elle.
