- Independent mental health service
Priory Hospital Enfield
Assessment report published 16 February 2026
Contents
Ratings - Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units
Our view of the service
We carried out a comprehensive assessment of the Priory Hospital Enfield Acute ward on 22nd October 2025.
The acute ward was for female patients who were aged 18+ who required inpatient care for a wide range of mental health conditions.
Priory Hospital Enfield was last inspected by the CQC in September 2021. The hospital was rated good overall. The Acute ward was rated requires improvement for responsive. There were three requirement notices issued at the previous inspection.
At this assessment we rated the ward as good. Previous breaches have now been addressed, and the service is now compliant with regulations in these areas.
We spoke with 12 members of staff, 5 patients and 2 carers. We also reviewed the care and treatment records of 4 patients.
We identified several areas of good practice during this inspection. Staff had a good understanding of what incidents to report and the process for doing so. Staff told us they avoided using physical restraint by using de-escalation techniques. All staff were up to date with their yearly appraisals. Patients could access a range of interventions and activities in line with national guidance. Patients told us staff were kind and treated them well. All staff told us they felt respected, supported and valued by their colleagues and managers.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 5 patients and 2 carers during this inspection.
The majority of patient feedback was positive. Patients reported that the ward was well-staffed with kind and helpful people. Patients shared that they felt involved in their care and treatment, regularly meeting with their doctor and the multidisciplinary team.
Patients told us about activities they were involved in, including movie nights, arts and crafts sessions and music sessions. One patient felt that some staff didn’t listen to them, although shared that this wasn’t a frequent occurrence. All patients said they felt safe on the ward.
We observed positive interactions between staff and patients during the inspection. We saw that staff were kind towards patients. Senior staff highlighted a culture of compassion amongst the team.
Mental Health Act
The hospital admitted patients under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Training on the Mental Health Act was mandatory for staff, and the compliance rate was 89.5%. Staff were able to apply the principles of the Mental Health Act effectively.
Staff ensured that each patient was informed about their rights under the Mental Health Act and this was observed within the patients notes.
Staff facilitated section 17 leave (permission to leave the hospital) for patients when agreed upon with the responsible clinician. Section 17 leave arrangements were discussed and organised at the daily handover meeting, which we observed whilst on site. We observed staff adding future leave arrangements to the diary, to ensure there was staff coverage to facilitate this.
Detention papers and associated records were accurately stored and readily accessible to staff on the ward as needed.
Mental Capacity Act
Training on the Mental Capacity Act was mandatory for staff and 84.2% of staff had completed this. This training was provided as part of the induction process.
Staff completed an assessment of each patient’s capacity to consent to admission and treatment on admission. Further assessments took place during reviews by the multidisciplinary team when needed. Whilst on site we observed a Mental Capacity Assessment that needed to be completed, and this was promptly actioned by staff.