Priory Group

In 1980 the Priory Hospital in Roehampton was acquired by Community Psychiatric, an American healthcare company,{{cite news |title=RBS eyes sale of Priory to private equity |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/597b0b12-6446-11df-8618-00144feab49a.html#axzz1wILphujl |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/K7rqw |archive-date=11 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=20 May 2010 |access-date=28 May 2012}} and became the first clinic in what was to become the Priory Group.{{cite news |title=Gimme shelter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/jul/05/features11.g21 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=5 July 1999 |access-date=27 May 2012}}

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

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/man-priory/article/432103|title=The Man from the Priory|date=1 April 2004|publisher=Management Today|access-date=28 March 2020}}

In 2002, the company was the subject of another management buyout, this time led by Doughty Hanson & Co, for £289 million.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2039159.stm | title=Priory clinics sold for £288m| publisher=BBC | date=June 11, 2002}} 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.doughtyhanson.com/presspe/20050705_print.htm.| title=Doughty Hanson sells Priory Group for £875m| publisher=DoughtyHanson.com | date=July 5, 2005}}

Advent International took control for an aggregate consideration of £925 million in 2011.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/privateequity/8266597/Advent-buys-The-Priory-for-925m.html|title=Advent buys The Priory for £925m|publisher=The Telegraph|date=18 January 2011|access-date=28 March 2020}}

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.{{cite news|title=Priory Group sets sights on community contracts|url=http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/joint-working/health/priory-group-sets-sights-on-community-contracts/5076169.article|access-date=19 November 2014|publisher=Local Government Chronicle|date=27 October 2014}}

Acadia Healthcare bought the business for £1.3 billion in January 2016{{cite news|title=BC PARTNERS AGREES £320M DEAL FOR 22 PRIORY CLINICS|url=https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/national/bc-partners-agrees-320m-deal-for-priory-clinics|access-date=23 December 2016|publisher=Insider media|date=21 October 2016}} 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.{{cite news |title=Waterland to acquire Priory Group in £1.1bn deal |url=https://www.carehomeprofessional.com/waterland-to-acquire-priory-group-in-1-1bn-deal/ |access-date=21 March 2021 |publisher=Carehome Professional |date=8 January 2021}}

In 2022, The Times reported that the healthcare chain faced "spiralling rental bills"{{Cite web |last=Ralph |first=Alex |date=2024-07-23 |title=Sale and leaseback deal lands Priory Group with soaring rent bills |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/sale-and-leaseback-deal-lands-priory-group-with-soaring-rent-bills-8x5x32xv0 |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |first=Alex|last= Ralph|date=2024-07-23 |title=Inflation-linked rents could force Priory to increase its prices |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/inflation-linked-rents-could-force-priory-to-increase-its-prices-tzxwxrb8s |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

In 2023, the Priory Group 's loss before tax climbed sharply to £72.4 million from £16.9 million. According to its most recent accounts, the company reported a negative equity value of £203 million.{{Cite web |last=Cahill |first=Helen |date=2024-10-23 |title=Short-seller targets the Priory landlord over property deals |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/short-seller-targets-the-priory-landlord-over-property-deals-kdrhk87vq |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

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".{{Cite journal |last=Goozner |first=Merrill |date=2023-07-19 |title=Private equity takeovers are harming patients |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1396 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=382 |pages=1396 |doi=10.1136/bmj.p1396 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=37468159|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |title=Private equity groups bet on UK healthcare as NHS waiting lists grow |url=https://www.ft.com/content/94184d66-517b-4893-8e06-df16efd135b3 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=www.ft.com}}

In 2024, Viceroy Research, a financial investigations research group, examined the sale-leaseback deals of the Priory's landlord MHT and accused it of falsely presenting the Priory Group as “a well capitalised and profitable machine” despite accumulating losses while under private equity ownership". In a report, Viceroy found that the Priory Group has been "operationally loss-making for years and relies on the proceeds of sale-leaseback transactions to remain solvent" and that "Medical Properties Trust's (MPT) assertions about the solvency of its tenants are fairy tales told to shareholders and analysts. MPT's rent roll is almost exclusively distressed and management continues to portray these tenants as not only a going concern but a sound investment".{{Cite journal |last=Research |first=Viceroy |date=October 22, 2024 |title=MPW – Under-Waterland |url=https://viceroyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/MPW-Under-Waterland.pdf |journal=Viceroy Research}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-10 |title=The Times view of failures at Priory facilities: Duties of Care |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-times-view-of-failures-at-priory-facilities-duties-of-care-dw7dhj376 |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} In 2021, NHS England, which contracts the Priory for over £400 million in mental health care contracts annually,{{Cite web |last=Caseby |first=Richard |date=3 July 2023 |title=The NHS’s mental health review will fail to answer its darkest secret |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-mental-health-review-priory-group-b2367773.html |website=The Independent}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Tarrant |first=Billy Kenber, Senior Investigations Reporter {{!}} Katie |date=2024-06-25 |title=Patients died after catalogue of errors by Priory mental health chain |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/leading-mental-health-chain-priory-criticised-for-failing-to-keep-patients-safe-gn7qbbwbs |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}} In 2022, the Care Quality Commission identified that Priory hospitals faced criticism over the care related to at least 30 patient fatalities.{{Cite news |last=Kenber |first=Katie Tarrant, Billy |date=2023-11-17 |title='I gave the Priory my sick husband. He never came back' |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/i-gave-the-priory-my-sick-husband-he-never-came-back-t9lxg2gr6 |access-date=2023-11-17 |issn=0140-0460}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=Priory Healthcare Ltd fined for criminal failings after the death of an NHS patient |url=https://www.inquest.org.uk/matthew-caseby-prosecution |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Inquest |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |title=Priory faces large fine after death of Amy El-Keria, 14 |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-09/priory-faces-large-fine-after-death-of-girl-14/ |access-date=14 January 2019 |publisher=ITV |date=9 January 2018}}

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.”{{cite news |title=New hospital to close after 'inadequate' rating |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/south-central/new-hospital-to-close-after-inadequate-rating/7024425.article |access-date=14 February 2019 |publisher=Health Service Journal |date=13 February 2019}} The CQC rated three units run by Priory Group inadequate.[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/25/inspectors-discover-poor-standards-at-28-mental-health-units Inspectors discover poor standards at 28 mental health units] The Guardian

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".{{Cite web |date=2016-09-28 |title=Priory clinic compensates widow of patient who died after jumping in front of train |url=https://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/epsom/14767422.priory-clinic-in-roehampton-compensates-widow-of-patient-neil-carter-from-ewell-who-died-after-jumping-in-front-of-train/ |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Surrey Comet |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Agency |date=2016-09-26 |title=Family payout for 'gross failures' at Priory mental health clinic |url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/meaningful-compensation-paid-widow-young-11937458 |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Surrey Live |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2015-04-29 |title=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 |url=https://www.inquest.org.uk/sara-green-inquest-conclusions |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Inquest |language=en}}

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".{{Cite web |date=2017-08-18 |title=Deaths prompt Priory care concerns. - Clinical Negligence and Catastrophic Injury Solicitors |url=https://www.cnci.co.uk/site/library/legalnews/deaths-prompt-priory-care-concerns |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=CNCI |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Racehorse Owner Mustafa Khan Died After Leaving Priory Hospital |url=https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/newsandmedia/2019/january/wife-of-racehorse-owner-found-dead-after-discharge-from-priory-hospital-wants-lessons-to-be-learned |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Irwin Mitchell |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Randhawa |first=Kiran |date=2019-01-09 |title=Widow hits out at mental health hospital that sent husband home days before suicide |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/widow-hits-out-at-mental-health-hospital-that-sent-husband-home-days-before-suicide-a4034231.html |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Turriff |first=Katie Gibbons, Caroline |date=2024-07-31 |title=Priory hospital staff forged records after death of patient, 16 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/priory-hospital-staff-forged-records-after-death-of-patient-16-3j2z9839f |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

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".{{Cite web |last=Nightingale |first=Annmarie |date=2021-12-01 |title=Dr Malcolm Dixon |url=https://gcnchambers.co.uk/a-narrative-conclusion-has-been-returned-in-the-inquest-into-the-death-of-dr-malcolm-dixon/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Garden Court North Chambers |language=en-GB}} He recommended the standardisation of observations across NHS and private hospitals.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-04 |title=Coroner's concerns over man who took his own life at mental health hospital |url=https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/19760811.concerns-man-took-life-priory-hospital-altrincham/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Messenger Newspapers |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |title=Two private hospitals placed in special measures |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/mental-health/two-private-hospitals-placed-in-special-measures/7025652.article? |access-date=3 September 2019 |publisher=Health Service Journal |date=30 July 2019}} 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.{{cite news |title=US corporations expand across NHS mental healthcare |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4f428fc8-fefe-11e9-b7bc-f3fa4e77dd47 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211/https://www.ft.com/content/4f428fc8-fefe-11e9-b7bc-f3fa4e77dd47 |archive-date=11 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2019 |publisher=Financial Times |date=8 November 2019}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=James Booth: Prevention of future deaths report |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/james-booth-prevention-of-future-deaths-report/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite news |date=2022-01-30 |title=Gary Mavin: Wife's shock at poor care before suicide death |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-60060844 |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} 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".{{Cite web |date=2021-11-15 |title=GARY MAVIN: PRIORY HOSPITAL'S NEGLECT CONTRIBUTED TO FATHER'S DEATH, INQUEST FINDS |url=https://www.inquest.org.uk/gary-mavin-concludes |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Inquest |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-28 |title=Extremely concerning incidents reported in Kneesworth House Hospital documentary |url=https://www.royston-crow.co.uk/news/21994816.extremely-concerning-incidents-reported-kneesworth-house-hospital-documentary/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Royston Crow |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Joanna |date=2021-10-26 |title=Convicts at Cambs mental health facility 'signed up to dating apps' |url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/sex-offenders-internet-kneesworth-hospital-21965335 |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Cambridgeshire Live |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Secure Hospital Uncovered (Exposure), ITV documentary |url=https://www.itv.com/watch/secure-hospital-uncovered-exposure/10a1607 |access-date=16 November 2023 |website=itv.com}}

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.{{cite news |title='Elements of abuse' witnessed at 'inadequate' private hospital |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/mental-health/elements-of-abuse-witnessed-at-inadequate-private-hospital/7029619.article |access-date=8 May 2021 |publisher=Health Service Journal |date=5 March 2021}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-27 |title=Amy Henderson: Prevention of future deaths report |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/amy-henderson-prevention-of-future-deaths-report/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite web |date=January 2024 |title=Written evidence submitted by Mr Richard Caseby (TCS0046) |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/127684/pdf/ |website=UK Parliament}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Caseby |first=Richard |date=2023-11-15 |title=My son died — the Priory failed him. Now I'm fighting for accountability |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/priory-matthew-caseby-mental-health-care-rdttd5jh2 |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0140-0460}} In this case, the Care Quality Commission decided that the failings of care were so severe that it launched a criminal prosecution of Priory Healthcare Ltd, which was 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.{{Cite news |last=Rayner |first=Gordon |date=2024-12-11 |title=I thought The Priory was the go-to celebrity rehab clinic. Why did my child die there? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/11/what-has-gone-so-desperately-wrong-at-the-priory/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Aneesa |date=2024-03-08 |title=Priory healthcare group fined £650,000 over death of patient |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/08/matthew-caseby-priory-healthcare-group-fined |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} After sentencing, the patient’s father described the Priory as a "calculating, cruel and fundamentally dangerous company".{{Cite web |last=Moodley |first=Kiran |date=2024-03-08 |title=Mental health care provider fined £650k over patient death |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/mental-health-care-provider-fined-650k-over-patient-death |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Channel 4 News |language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite news |date=2024-02-20 |title=Nottingham: Woman died after walking out of mental health hospital |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68354096 |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} 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".{{Cite news |date=2023-06-24 |title=Nottinghamshire: Priory Hospital Arnold ordered to improve or be closed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-66002889#:~:text=The%20Care%20Quality%20Commission%20(CQC,a%20previous%20inspection%20in%20August. |access-date=2024-09-02 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-27 |title=Amy Henderson: Prevention of future deaths report |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/amy-henderson-prevention-of-future-deaths-report/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary |language=en-US}}

In 2022, three young women died within two months of each other at the Priory Cheadle Royal hospital, near Manchester.{{Cite web |last=Slater |first=Chris |date=2023-10-22 |title=Three young women, three tragic deaths, one mental health hospital |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/three-young-women-three-tragic-27935522 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}} An inquest jury found the first death was "contributed to by neglect" by the hospital.{{Cite web |title=Neglect contributed to suicide of Beth Matthews, jury concludes {{!}} Leigh Day |url=https://www.leighday.co.uk/news/news/2023-news/neglect-contributed-to-suicide-of-beth-matthews-jury-concludes/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.leighday.co.uk |language=en}} 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".{{Cite web |date=2023-11-13 |title=Lauren Bridges: Prevention of future deaths report |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/prevention-of-future-death-reports/lauren-bridges-prevention-of-future-deaths-report/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-14 |title=Deseree Fitzpatrick Inquest: Coroner Finds Inappropriate Medication Regime Caused Patient's Death |url=https://www.isonharrison.co.uk/blog/deseree-fitzpatrick-inquest-coroner-finds-inappropriate-medication-regime-caused-patients-death/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Ison Harrison Solicitors |language=en-GB}} 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".{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Todd |date=2023-05-30 |title=CEO of mental health care firm hits back at critical watchdog report |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/ceo-mental-health-care-firm-27017689 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}} Less than four months later a fourth young woman died at the same hospital.{{Cite web |last=Vesty |first=Helena |date=2023-10-04 |title=Another young woman dies at hospital where three died in less than two months |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/another-young-woman-dies-same-27839148 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}} 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".{{Cite web |last=Scheerhout |first=John |date=2024-05-16 |title=Inquest finds 'misadventure' led to woman's death at Priory unit |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/things-need-happen-more-deaths-29180581 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}

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.{{Cite news |date=2023-11-15 |title=Priory hospital fined £140k after woman's death |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-67427462 |access-date=2023-11-16}} 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".{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=David |date=2024-07-24 |title=The Priory fined after woman killed herself on ‘shambolic’ ward |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/the-priory-fined-after-woman-killed-herself-on-shambolic-ward-3bsdwdcwc |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}

{{See also|The Priory Hospital#Notable patients}}

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

• Craig Charles, actor{{cite news|first=Decca|last=Aitkenhead|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/mar/16/craig-charles-interview-red-dwarf|title=Decca Aitkenhead Meets Craig Charles|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=16 March 2009|access-date=24 July 2011}}
• Richey Edwards, musician and songwriter{{cite news |title=Richey Edwards Obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3514147/Richey-Edwards.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=24 November 2008 |access-date=26 May 2012}}
• Paul Gascoigne, footballer{{cite book|last=Paul Gascoigne |author2=John McKeown |author3=Hunter Davies|year=2006|title=Being Gazza: Tackling My Demons|publisher=Headline Publishing|location=London|isbn=0-7553-1542-1}}
• Michael Johnson, footballer{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/former-man-city-star-michael-johnson-having-treatment-after-suffering-mental-illness-3355150.html|title=Former Man City star Michael Johnson having treatment after suffering mental illness|newspaper=Irish Independent|publisher=Independent News & Media|location=Dublin|access-date=16 January 2013|date=16 January 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jan/16/michael-johnson-priory-mental-health|title=Michael Johnson reveals Priory treatment for mental health problems|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=16 January 2013|date=16 January 2013}}
• Justin Hawkins, singer{{cite news |title=Darkness singer in rehab clinic |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/5265092.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=18 August 2006 |access-date=2006-12-19 }}
• Steven Walters, footballer{{cite news|last1=Wallace|first1=Sam|title=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|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/01/04/silence-current-players-child-sex-abuse-claims-has-deafening/|access-date=5 January 2017|work=Telegraph|date=4 January 2017}}
• Ruby Wax, actress and comedian{{cite news |title=Ruby Wax: Losing It |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/7560414/Ruby-Wax-Losing-It.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=6 April 2010 |accessdate=26 May 2012 |first=Jasper |last=Rees}}

• Private healthcare in the United Kingdom

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.priorygroup.com The Priory Group]
• {{OpenCorp|The Priory Group}}

Category:Addiction organisations in the United Kingdom

Category:Health care companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Private providers of NHS services