The Priory Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that patients were always at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. We checked that the health and care needs of patients and communities were understood, and they were actively involved in planning care that met these needs. We also looked for evidence that patients could access care in ways that met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.

At our last assessment we rated this key question as requires improvement. At this assessment the rating had improved to good. This meant patient’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for patients to give feedback. Patients were well informed about their treatment. They were able to access the service when they needed it and received the right care in line with national standards.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Patient’s care plans reflected their physical, mental, emotional and social needs. We reviewed 19 sets of records and found these reflected the patients’ needs. Staff regularly reviewed patient’s needs and updated records when things had changed.

Patients received the most appropriate care and treatment as staff made reasonable adjustments where necessary. Staff treated patients with stomas (bowel connected opening made through the abdominal wall) in private bedrooms to ensure they had access to private bathrooms rather than the use of communal bathroom.

Patients who used services and those close to them were regularly involved in planning and making shared decisions about their care and treatment. The oncology centre hosted a haematology support group meet-up for patients which gave patients an opportunity to come together, share experiences, and offer support to one another. The centre also encouraged networking between patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer to provide additional social and emotional support, this was led by the breast care nurse. The social group was called “the pink ladies''.

Staff reviewed endoscopy lists in the daily planning of the department and allocated bed space according to gender. This minimised the crossover of patients walking past of the opposite gender including toilets allocated to male or female accordingly.

The ward area was designed to meet the needs of patients. Each patient had their own room with a bathroom. Patients were given a choice of food and drink to meet their cultural and religious preferences.

A patient told us staff responded to the call bell quickly when they called for help.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

There was continuity of care to ensure that all the procedures required from the start of treatment until the end were arranged and joined up. Staff understood the needs and preferences of people with protected characteristics.

A discharge planning tool was incorporated to patient notes and staff could refer patients to community services including social services.

Staff provided a 7-day service with the Highbury ward open 7 days a week. Endoscopy procedures were carried out from Monday to Friday depending on bookings received.

Patients were all given the ward telephone number and advised to ring the ward if they had any concerns post-chemotherapy.

Oncology nurses contacted patients who had received their first cycle of chemotherapy 24-48 hours following their treatment. Patients who had an endoscopy procedure, received a call from the nursing team 48 hours following discharge.

The service were exceptional at developing appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The information used in reporting, performance management and delivering quality care was consistently found to be accurate, valid, reliable, timely and relevant. The service had an electronic quality management system, which monitored the performance of the service through data collection on all aspects of the service including incidents, complaints, mandatory training and audits.

Patients told us they were well informed about their treatment. They knew their treatment plan, what procedure they were having and what the next steps were for their recovery.

Patients received information and advice that was accurate and up to date. Staff provided information in a way that they could understand and met their communication needs. A medicines helpline was available for patients to ring after receiving chemotherapy if they had any medicines related queries.

Information was tailored to individual need. Patient identifiable information was protected. All patients had their own rooms which meant discussions about their care was kept private.

Information needed to deliver effective care and treatment was available to relevant staff in a timely and accessible way. The service policies were available to all staff via the intranet. The service used paper records in the form of booklets which contained clear pathways to follow. This meant all patients records were within the same pathway. For example, the pre-operative assessment, ward care and theatre records were all within the booklet.

The hospital hosted a free diabetes prevention patient information online webinar in November 2024. Hosted by a professor of diabetes and endocrinology, participants discovered the importance of diabetes prevention and learned about the signs to be aware of.

The oncology department had introduced a “have your say” post box as a way to gather patient feedback. This was introduced because staff recognised that patients may be too fatigued after treatment to respond to the patient online survey.

There were arrangements to ensure data or notifications were submitted to external bodies as required. There were also arrangements (including internal and external validation) to ensure the availability, integrity and confidentiality of identifiable data, records and data management systems, in line with data security standards.

Families including children of people receiving cancer treatment were involved in their care. Children and young people were provided practical and emotional support when their parents received cancer treatment. We saw examples of when children were given comic books to explain breast cancer.

Information leaflets were available including booklets such as cancer and sex life, pressure ulcer prevention, common side effects of treatment and managing sickness and vomiting. There were also leaflets which related to talking to children and teenagers when an adult has cancer, how patients felt emotionally after cancer and coping with bereavement.

The Highbury ward had an open day in July based on feedback from the patient forum done in Easter. Staff invited all current and past patients to highlight they were there to support them through physiotherapy, dietitians and provide spiritual support. The event took place in the Highbury garden which was available in the chemotherapy unit.

Patient’s communication needs were assessed and met to maximise the effectiveness of their care and treatment. Processes were in place to ensure patients received translation and interpretation services to enable them to be involved in the assessment of their needs and to ensure care received was patient centred.

Visitors were advised to not attend the endoscopy department and only patients were allowed within the day case unit. This minimised the number of patients in the department.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved patients in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Patients knew how to give feedback about their experiences including how to raise complaints or concerns. The service clearly displayed information about how to raise a concern in patient areas. Patients told us they felt comfortable raising any issues with staff caring for them at the time.

Staff told us they always tried to address complaints or concerns immediately to see if the team could address them. Patients were given details on how to make a complaint if the problem could not be resolved. It was easy for patients to give feedback about the service.

There were policies and processes in place to support patients who wanted to raise concerns and complaints about their care and treatment.

Staff understood the policy on complaints and knew how to handle them. There had been 1 formal complaint relating to endoscopy, 0 formal complaints for oncology, and 72 compliments for both endoscopy and oncology departments since August 2024.

Managers investigated complaints. Staff saw learning from complaints and concerns as an opportunity for improvement and staff could give examples of how they incorporated learning into daily practice.

The oncology unit held an Easter themed oncology patient forum in April 2025 to enable patients provide feedback and suggest improvements to the oncology service. Six patients attended and shared positive comments.

The oncology department organised a “look good, feel better” event for patients in September and November 2025 to help patients face cancer with confidence. They offered free skin care and make-up workshops.

Breast care nurses organised a ‘’pink ladies’’ picnic in July 2025 and 6 patients from the breast cancer support group attended. Food was provided by the onsite catering team.

A breast care nurse attended the menopause and cancer event at Solihull Hospital with 3 of breast cancer patients in May 2025.

Staff identified that there was a need to enhance the physiotherapy service offered to oncology patients in early 2025. This was to help patients work towards their own exercise goals and to manage adverse effects of chemotherapy following a cancer diagnosis. The physiotherapy service offered patients with a personalised consultation and helped devise an exercise programme that was tailored to their ability and interests. The hospital also offered tailored pilates and yoga group sessions for oncology patients.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Patients were able to access the service when they needed it and received the right care in line with national standards. Patients mostly were able to have treatment within 2 weeks of it being requested.

Care, treatment and support was accessible, timely and in line with best practice, quality standards and legal requirements. The service offered free NHS care under the Patient choice government initiative. Patients could either book an appointment through their GP, through the NHS e-referral service website, NHS e-referral service line or by calling the Priory team.

When services changed, equity of access was considered. Patients could phone or email the booking team if they wanted to cancel or rearrange their appointment.

Staff worked hard to remove any barriers to access for patients. There was a strong culture to prevent discrimination and inequalities supported by training and guidance.

Managers monitored waiting times and made sure patients could access planned procedures when needed and received treatment within agreed timeframes and national targets. The service did not audit waiting times for private patients as access for diagnosis and treatment was not delayed. There was limited endoscopy service in the hospital and waiting times were therefore generally quick.

Staff tailored the care and treatment they provided to meet the experience of patients. Following endoscopy procedures, patients and their GPs were provided with a copy of report detailing immediate findings and whether biopsies were taken.

The service had an in-house dietitian who was available 4 days a week. A speech and language therapy clinician was available upon request to support patients requiring additional nutritional support.

The Priory Hospital collaborated with a chaplaincy service, an organisation dedicated to providing emotional, spiritual, and pastoral care to individuals and local community. Their mission was to offer a listening ear and a guiding hand, ensuring no one felt alone in their time of need.

The Priory Hospital had recently collaborated with Blood Cancer UK, who were able to provide support for haematology patients during and post treatment in the community.

From March to August 2025 there had been no reported incidents of cancellations on the day of procedure for both the endoscopy department and oncology unit.

We did not look at Equity in experiences and outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.