- Independent mental health service
The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove
Report from 11 December 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Specialist eating disorder services
Our view of the service
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.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 5 patients and 3 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 arts and crafts. One patient said that the night staff were not as involved as the day staff in their care but did acknowledge this could have been as most patients are asleep during the night. Most patients said they felt safe on the ward.
We spoke with 3 family members as part of the inspection. All family members were positive about the care and treatment their family member had received as well as themselves. Family members said they could contact the service at any time should they want an update, advice or information.
One family member said the treatment their child received was the best support their child had received from a hospital and even though staff were faced with challenges with managing behaviours, they always showed kindness and compassion.
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 and stated that the team felt like a family.
Mental Health Act
The hospital admitted patients under the Mental Health Act 1983. At the time of the inspection, no patients were detained in hospital for an assessment, and three patients were detained for treatment. Five patients were not detained under the Act.
Staff maintained up-to-date training on the Mental Health Act and staff were able to apply the principles of the Mental Health Act effectively. Training on the Mental Health Act was mandatory for staff, and the compliance rate was 92.3%.
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.
Detention papers and associated records were accurately stored and readily accessible to staff on the ward as needed. For one patient intramuscular rapid tranquilisation was included on the T2 without a clear rationale about how this would be used in practice. There was no care planning to support its use. This was flagged with senior management on day 1 of our inspection and evidence was observed on day 2 of the inspection, that this had since been amended.
Mental Capacity Act
Training on the Mental Capacity Act was mandatory for staff and 92.3% of staff had completed this.
Staff completed an assessment of each patient’s capacity to consent to admission and treatment on admission. Staff supported patients in making informed decisions about their care and treatment. They demonstrated an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, including its five core principles, and followed provider policy for assessing and recording capacity. Records evidenced that patients got thorough explanations and adequate time to process information before consenting to treatment.