Priory is the leading independent provider of mental healthcare and adult social care in the UK.

We have two divisions, which together support the needs of over 35,000 people every year. Our divisions are:

• Healthcare; and
• Adult Care Services

Our purpose is to empower each person in our care to take steps towards a healthy future and live their lives as positively and independently as possible.

We are dedicated to helping people to improve their health and wellbeing. We understand that in order for people to achieve the best clinical outcomes, they respond best to individually tailored programmes, suiting their specific needs.

Priory is a long-established and respected company. Over the years, we have developed and maintained a reputation for delivering a real and lasting difference for each individual who uses our services. 

We currently treat more than 70 different conditions through a nationwide network of over 300 facilities. Our services include:

• Private healthcare:
  • Mental Health Services – including treatment for depression, anxiety, stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Addiction Treatment Programmes – including treatment for alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gambling addiction, love and sex addiction, internet addiction and shopping addiction
  • Eating Disorder Services – including treatment for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder (BED) and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED)
  • Young People’s Services
• NHS healthcare:
  • Adult Acute, High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) Services
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
  • Brain Injury Services
  • Eating Disorder Services
  • Rehabilitation and Recovery Services 
  • Secure Services
• Adult Care Services
  • Specialist Residential Services
  • Supported Living Services
  • Older People's Care Services

Priory’s network of high quality facilities enables us to offer joined-up care pathways with our dedicated Priory Adult Care services. We offer programmes which integrate healthcare treatment and therapy, that are tailored according to individual needs, in an appropriate setting. Our strength is that we can provide a seamless transition for the individual as they progress between higher and lower dependency services.

A diverse team of leading experts

Priory is home to an experienced team of practitioners, many of whom are published and leading experts in their field. Our specialists are committed to delivering the best care to each person who receives support with us, and pride themselves on placing service users at the heart of their treatment and rehabilitation journey. This approach ensures that service users are allocated to the best expert for their needs and benefit from a tailored programme that produces the most positive outcomes for them as individuals.

We also ensure that our specialists engage in continuous professional development in order to guarantee that their practice is guided by the very latest research and adheres to robust National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and other relevant standards.

Safety, quality and compliance

All providers of healthcare, specialist services and social care have a responsibility to strive for excellence in their services, and to identify areas for improvement. Our Priory promise is to deliver the highest standards of safety, quality, care and treatment for the people that we support. We are committed to implementing this promise in practice, and demonstrate that we are able to achieve consistently high standards across all of our services.

Our sector is regulated by a number of bodies:

• The Care Quality Commission (CQC), which reports on health and adult social care services in England
• Ofsted, which inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people
• Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)
• Care Inspectorate (Scotland)
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
• Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW)
• Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW)
• Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)

Priory has a strong track record of clinical quality. Our facilities are regularly inspected by external regulatory bodies such as the CQC. In addition, we are able to demonstrate good compliance outcomes and a strong ratings profile. Priory has also achieved ISO accreditation, and with strict clinical governance protocols in place, we ensure that we deliver consistently high quality person-centred care, education and support.

For more information, please visit our safety, quality and compliance page.

Our history

Priory was founded in 1980 with the purchase of Priory Hospital Roehampton, by an independent healthcare company. The Roehampton site has been in continuous operation since its launch in 1872 by renowned Psychiatrist, Dr William Wood. Over the following decades, Priory acquired more hospitals and diversified its services. In 1993, Priory moved into specialist education services with the purchase of Jacques Hall Foundation, followed by an adolescent therapeutic community, in Manningtree, Essex.

In 2014, we opened our first Priory Wellbeing Centre in Fenchurch Street, London, and acquired the Castlecare Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of local authority funded children’s services. Castlecare, which formed part of our Education and Children's Services division, delivers high quality services across children’s homes and specialist schools.

In September 2015, we acquired Life Works, one of the leading addiction and mental health hospitals in the UK, which joined our Healthcare division to continue supporting people with mental health conditions and addictive behaviours.

In December 2015, we acquired Progress Care, a leading provider of specialist education and care in Lancashire. Progress Care’s service for young adults became part of Priory Adult Care Services, and its children's service joined Priory Education and Children’s Services.

In February 2016, Priory formally became part of Acadia Healthcare, one of the leading providers of behavioural care in the world.

In November 2016, Priory merged with Partnerships in Care, a UK-based healthcare company owned by Acadia. This resulted in 66 sites, with a total of 1,890 beds, joining Priory.

In November 2017, Aspire Scotland joined our Education and Children’s Services division. Aspire provided education and care to young people aged 8 to 18 years, with complex needs. Thirty residential beds across seven children's homes and a day school joined the division, as well as a café and member’s gym for both students and the general public.

In January 2021, Priory was acquired by Waterland Private Equity. Waterland’s existing portfolio of companies includes MEDIAN, Germany’s largest provider of rehabilitation, neurology and orthopaedic treatments. MEDIAN operates 123 clinics and facilities with 20,000 beds and places across Germany, and treats 260,000 patients annually. Following the acquisition, on 12th July 2021, Waterland unified Priory’s operations with those of MEDIAN to create Europe’s leading rehabilitation and mental health services provider, with a focus on health and social care services in the UK.

In July 2021, a new standalone company, Aspris, was formed by Waterland, incorporating the previous Priory Education and Children’s Services and Middle East Divisions. As a result, Priory now comprises the Healthcare and Adult Care Divisions. Our vast network of specialists, working within these divisions, means that we are extremely well-placed to deliver expert support, empowering the individuals who use our services to take steps towards a positive future. It also enables us to provide a seamless pathway of care between our Healthcare and Adult Care services, where required.

Our purpose and behaviours

Our central and clinical teams are committed to upholding our motto, 'Live your life', which forms the core purpose of everything we do.

The five behaviours that Priory aspires to are:

• Putting people first - we put the needs of our service users above all else
• Being supportive - we support our colleagues, our service users and their families when they need us most
• Acting with integrity - we are honest, transparent and decent. We treat each other with respect
• Striving for excellence - for over 140 years, we have been trusted by our service users with their care. We take this trust seriously and constantly strive to improve the services we provide
• Being positive – we see the best in our service users and each other, and we strive to get things done. We never give up and we learn from our mistakes