The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove

Updated 17 August 2026

The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove is an independent hospital providing inpatient care and treatment for
adults with mental health conditions, eating disorders and substance misuse needs. The service
provides care for men and women aged 18 and over, with a total of 46 inpatient beds.

We carried out multiple comprehensive assessments at this location across different assessment service groups. These included:

• a specialist eating disorder service assessment on 13 &14 January 2026
• an acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units assessment on 27 January 2026
• a residential substance misuse services assessment on 26 & 27 February 2026

At the previous location assessment in 2021, the location was rated overall good, with the key question Safe rated as Requires Improvement and all other key questions rated as good.

At this assessment, the overall location rating is Good. The key question Safe remains Requires Improvement, the key questions Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led remain Good.

Across the three assessments, we found evidence of consistently good care delivery within the eating disorder and acute mental health services, with improvements noted in previously identified risks within the eating disorder service, where Safe had improved to Good and all key questions were rated Good.

Staff delivered person-centred, compassionate care, with strong multidisciplinary team working, effective therapeutic interventions, and positive feedback from people and carers across services.

However, findings from the residential substance misuse services assessment impacted the overall rating, where we identified breaches of Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment, Regulation 17: Good Governance, and Regulation 18: Staffing.

These concerns related to staff competence, training, governance oversight, and the safe management of clinical risk, including risks associated with withdrawal and overdose, and the timely access to emergency medicines.

While leaders demonstrated awareness of issues and acted following inspection, governance systems were not sufficiently effective in identifying and mitigating risks proactively, particularly in relation to workforce competence and safe care delivery. Overall, the location demonstrated strong caring, effective and responsive care, but inconsistent safety and governance arrangements across service lines.

Updated 22 December 2025

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection of the mental health inpatient service at The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove. During the inspection, we spoke with senior leaders, ward managers, nurses, healthcare assistants and members of the multidisciplinary team. We observed care and interactions on the ward, reviewed patient care records and medicines charts, and examined governance documentation, policies, audit data and meeting minutes relevant to the running of the service.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection, the overall rating remained Good, with ratings for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well‑led all unchanged.

We found that patients received safe, effective and person‑centred care delivered by a skilled and experienced multidisciplinary team.

Risks were appropriately assessed and managed, staffing levels were responsive to patient acuity, and medicines were managed safely. Patients were treated with kindness, compassion and respect, and were involved in decisions about their care.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to manage the service effectively.

Governance arrangements provided oversight of quality, safety and performance, supported by a structured audit programme and clear risk management processes. Staff described a positive team culture, felt supported by local leadership, and were confident in raising concerns.

Overall, the service demonstrated consistent delivery of good‑quality mental health care, with systems in place to identify learning, address improvement opportunities and sustain safe practice.

We spoke with 15 members of staff, 6 patients and 3 carers. We also reviewed the care and treatment records of 4 patients.

Updated 4 February 2026

Date of inspection: 26 – 27 February 2026.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection as part of our inspection programme.

The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove is part of the larger The Priory provider, who deliver mental health care, addiction rehabilitation, and adult social care. They operate a large network of services across the country, offering treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions, addictions, and specialist care needs.

Lower Court is an acute private inpatient client ward providing care for up to 17 men and women. The ward supports individuals requiring treatment for mental health conditions as well as those engaging in the specialist addictions programme. Wickham Ward, an acute admission ward for up to nine men which opened in April 2021, was closed at the time of inspection.

Clients on Lower Court ward are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their recovery as they progress through their admission, with a particular focus on structured discharge planning. A range of individual and group therapeutic interventions is available throughout their stay.

The ward environment is designed to be safe, therapeutic and recovery oriented, while maintaining dignity, privacy and inclusivity across genders.

The ward’s philosophy centres on compassionate, recovery focused, evidence-based care delivered within a structured and supportive setting. Its therapeutic model integrates medical oversight with psychological therapies, emphasising patient centred practice. The service aims to build resilience, promote independence, and equip individuals with the skills required to maintain recovery and successfully reintegrate clients into the community. The service is registered to provide care for the following regulated activities:

Accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse

Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983

Diagnostic and screening procedures

Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of this inspection. This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection of the service.

At the time of the assessment, 10 people were receiving treatment for substance misuse at the service.

At this assessment we rated the service as Good.

We spoke with 3 people and 2 carers. We also reviewed the care and treatment records of 5 people.

At this assessment we found several areas of good practice.

The service developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment.

We saw evidence of client centred discussions in Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings.

People and carers praised the staff as incredibly professional, sharing their view that The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove “lovely, personable, and supportive.”

We spoke to 7 staff. Overall, staff described a supportive and person-centred culture, strong safeguarding practice, and positive working relationships. However, we identified inconsistencies in procedural knowledge, governance understanding, and training uptake among newer staff.

Carers told us that there was a strong culture of kindness, compassion and warm.

We found some areas for improvement.

We found a breach of Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment. Staff did not consistently have the knowledge and competence to recognise and respond to deterioration associated with substance misuse, including withdrawal and overdose, and access to medicines such as naloxone were limited. This increased the potential for delays in emergency treatment.

We found a breach of Regulation 17: Good Governance. Governance systems were not effective in identifying, monitoring and addressing risks relating to staff competence, training and the safe management of substance misuse treatment.

We found a breach of Regulation 18: Staffing. The provider did not ensure that sufficient numbers of staff with the appropriate substance misuse training and competence were available, which meant staff were not always equipped to deliver safe care.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

Updated 11 December 2025

We carried out a comprehensive assessment of The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove eating disorder unit on 13th and 14th January 2026.

The unit was for both male and female patients aged 18+ who required inpatient care for specialist services for people with eating disorders.

The Priory hospital Hayes Grove was last inspected by the CQC in April 2021. The service was rated overall good. For the eating disorder services, Priory Hospital Hayes Grove was rated requires improvement for Safe and there was one breach of regulations in place around the assessment and management of some physical health risks. At this current inspection, we found this has been addressed and Safe is now rated good.

At this assessment we rated the ward as good in all areas of Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led care.

We spoke with 9 members of staff, 5 patients and 3 carers. We also reviewed the care and treatment records of 6 patients.