The Priory Hospital Preston

Updated 24 September 2026

Dates of assessment: 07-09 April 2026 with an additional evening visit on 14 April 2026.

The Priory Hospital Preston is a 50 bedded mental health hospital specialising in the management and treatment of acute mental ill health and eating disorders.

The service is regulated for the activities of Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The service has a registered manager and a controlled drugs responsible officer.

We visited the following wards as part of the assessment:

• Rosemary ward
• Elswick ward
• Cottam ward
• Bartle ward

At this assessment, we assessed 2 assessment service groups (ASG); Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units and Specialist Eating Disorder Services. We assessed all quality statements across all key questions for both ASGs.

The location had last been inspected in June 2022 where it was rated good overall and in all key questions. No breaches of regulation were identified at the 2022 inspection.

We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We rated the location as Requires Improvement.

In the acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units, we found 3 breaches of regulations in relation to: making reasonable adjustments for patients with autistic spectrum disorder and a learning disability, management of risk assessments and care plans, management of health conditions, monitoring and maintenance of the environment and oversight of risks.

We found no breaches of regulation in the Specialist Eating Disorder Service.

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

Updated 17 October 2025

We assessed the Priory Hospital Preston from 7 to 9 April 2026.

We assessed the service due to the length of time since our last inspection.

The Priory Hospital Preston was registered with CQC in November 2010 to deliver the regulated activities: Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The service had a controlled drugs accountable officer and a registered manager.

We visited the following wards as part of the assessment:

• Cottam ward – an acute 12 bedded ward for adult males
• Rosemary Ward – an acute 16 bedded ward for adult males
• Elswick ward – an acute 12 bedded ward for adult females

We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

At this assessment we identified 3 breaches of regulations: Regulation 9 - Person Centred Care; Regulation 12 - Safe Care and Treatment and Regulation 17 - Good Governance.

We assessed 2 assessment service groups: Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units and Specialist eating disorder services.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance Summary

The service had up to date Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act policies in place. Staff had received and were up to date with Mental Capacity Act training which was at 95% and Mental Health Act training which was at 92%. Staff ensured that patients were able to take Section 17 leave (permission for patients to leave hospital) when this had been granted and they explained patients’ rights to them at the required intervals.

Staff completed capacity assessments for patients and patients had access to advocacy.

Requires Improvement

We rated the service as Requires Improvement. We found 3 breaches of the regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person centered care and good governance:

-Staff did not always identify patient risks and needs, and these were not always present in care plans, risk assessments and multi-disciplinary team meeting minutes.

-Staff did not always carry out environmental checks consistently on 1 of the wards and some areas of the environment were not safe.

-Handover meetings were not always effective. Information was not always shared verbally and oversight of staff such as identification of new staff attending the shift was not always completed.

-The service did not always meet the needs of neurodiverse patients. Staff did not always ensure patients had communication plans where it had been identified this was needed. The wards were noisy and reasonable adjustments were not always suitable for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

-Governance systems were not always robust. Management systems were not always effective at identifying concerns at ward level and risks were not always identified or managed effectively.

However

-There were sufficient experienced staff who had received relevant training and supervision to meet patient’s needs.

- Staff treated people with warmth, empathy and compassion. Patients felt safe on the wards and felt they could speak with staff whenever they needed to.

- The service encouraged patients to have a voice, listened to patient feedback and acted on this.

- Staff felt respected supported and valued and were proud to work for the provider.

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

Updated 17 October 2025

Date of assessment: 09 April 2026

The Priory Hospital Preston is a 50 bedded mental health hospital specialising in the management and treatment of acute mental ill health and eating disorders.

At this assessment, we assessed 2 assessment service groups (ASG); Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units and Specialist Eating Disorder Services. We assessed all quality statements across all key questions for both ASGs.

The Priory Hospital Preston had 1 Specialist Eating Disorder ward:

• Bartle ward – a 10 bedded ward for male and female patients

We found no breaches of regulation in the Specialist Eating Disorder Service.

We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We rated the service as Good. The ward was generally safe, clean, well equipped and fit for purpose. Staff assessed and managed risks to patients and themselves well. Patients were involved in their care planning and risk assessments and staff actively sought patient feedback on the quality of care provided. Patients had access to a range of therapies and activities that were delivered in line with relevant national guidance.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance Summary

Staff were trained in and had a good understanding of the Mental Health Act, the Code of Practice and the guiding principles.

73.9% of staff had completed their training in the Mental Health Act as of the time of the inspection. 21.7% of staff had been assigned the training but not yet started it whilst 4.3% of staff were in progress of completing the training. When allocated a training course, staff were given a target completion date for them to complete the training by. Staff recorded as not started or in progress were therefore not considered non-compliant.

Staff had access to administrative support and legal advice on implementation of the Mental Health Act and its Code of Practice. The provider had relevant policies and procedures that reflected the most recent guidance. Staff had easy access to local Mental Health Act policies and procedures and to the Code of Practice.

Patients had access to information about independent mental health advocacy.

Staff explained to patients their rights under the Mental Health Act in a way that they could understand, repeated it as required and recorded that they had done it.

Mental Capacity Act

Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, in particular the five statutory principles.

69.6% of staff had completed their mandatory training in the Mental Capacity Act. 21.7% of staff had been allocated the training but not yet started it whilst 8.7% of staff were in progress of completing the training. When allocated a training course, staff were given a target completion date for them to complete the training by. Staff recorded as not started or in progress were therefore not considered non-compliant.

The provider had a policy on the Mental Capacity Act, including deprivation of liberty safeguards. Staff were aware of the policy and had access to it. Staff knew where to get advice from within the provider regarding the Mental Capacity Act, including deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Staff took all practical steps to enable patients to make their own decisions. For patients who might have impaired mental capacity, staff assessed and recorded capacity to consent appropriately. They did this on a decision-specific basis with regard to significant decisions. Managers gave examples of how capacity was considered and the processes that were followed within the service.

At the time of the inspection, no patients within the service lacked capacity. We observed that capacity had been assessed within patient care records. When patients lacked capacity, staff made decisions in their best interests, recognising the importance of the person’s wishes, feelings, culture and history.