- Independent mental health service
Bere Clinic
Assessment report published 27 August 2026
Contents
Ratings - Specialist eating disorder services
Our view of the service
We carried out an unannounced, responsive risk-based assessment of The Bere Clinic on 11 March 2026. The Bere Clinic is a 12-bed independent eating disorder inpatient unit in Hampshire for children and young people aged 12–18, provided by Elysium Healthcare Limited.
The assessment followed concerns raised with CQC about staff culture, leadership, the safety of young people, and naso-gastric tube feeding. We reviewed these in detail and did not find them substantiated.
We looked at 32 quality statements across all five key questions and found areas of good practice. Staffing was sufficient and appropriately skilled, risks were assessed and mitigated, medicines were managed safely, and restrictive practice was minimised. Young people were listened to, staff felt able to speak up, and leaders worked well with local partners and investigated safety events thoroughly.
The overall rating remains good.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with four young people during our inspection. We spoke with them individually and in confidence.
Overall, young people were positive about their time at Bere Clinic. They described staff as kind, patient and genuinely interested in them as individuals. Several said staff remembered personal details about them and took time to check in beyond the clinical routine.
Young people told us mealtimes were managed well. They described staff as calm and consistent, which helped reduce anxiety. Three said they felt involved in decisions about their care and that goal-setting conversations were genuine. One young person said “The staff here actually listen. Not just about my eating disorder – about everything. I wasn’t expecting that.” One young person was less sure, saying they had not been fully supported to understand or engage with their care plan, they said “I know we talk about things but I’ve never actually sat down with someone and gone through my care plan properly. I’d like to know what it says about me.”
Young people raised two concerns about the environment.
Three young people said they could not access their bedrooms or en-suite toilet facilities freely during the day, until after 9pm. They said this had not been explained to them and felt undignified.
Three young people were aware the service had no dedicated de-escalation room. They said when a young person was in crisis it affected the whole ward. They also told us they had stopped using the sensory room to relax because it had been used during crises. One young person said “There should be a room where we can go when things get really bad. Somewhere calm and quiet, away from everyone else.”