Patients praise ‘kind and supportive’ staff at Priory’s Southampton Hospital which is rated ‘good’ across the board by the care watchdog

• Mental health hospital praised as ‘good’ in all categories, for being effective, caring, safe, responsive and well-led
• Patients said staff treated them well, and were kind and ‘very supportive’ and ‘easy to talk to’
• Staff had a ‘very good’ understanding of patients’ mental and physical health, along with understanding their family relationships, personal histories, interests and worries, inspectors said
• Patients said they felt ‘listened to’

Priory’s Southampton Hospital has been widely praised in a report by Care Quality Commission inspectors following an unannounced inspection.

The CQC said staff provided safe care and treated patients with compassion and kindness, and were discreet, respectful and responsive.

“Overall, there was a calm and therapeutic atmosphere on the wards,” it said. “Staff had a good understanding of their patients. This included a good understanding of patients’ mental and physical health conditions along with understanding their family relationships, personal histories and interests and worries.”

Leaders were described as skilled and knowledgeable, and were “visible in the hospital and approachable for patients and staff”. Staff said the hospital director visited the wards each day, senior leaders “led by example”, and the hospital had made significant progress over the previous six months. Staff felt respected and valued and particularly liked the autonomy that senior managers gave them to implement new ideas and initiatives to improve patient care.

Priory Hospital Southampton in Marchwood has three wards, two of which provide care and treatment for patients experiencing an acute episode of mental illness. A third ward caters for patients with eating disorders. Inspectors spoke to ward managers, 26 other ward staff and 14 patients, as well as the hospital director, head of therapies and head of safeguarding.

Highlighting examples of ‘outstanding practice’, the CQC said the hospital was particularly skilled in ensuring staff were able to respond to unexpected events, and knew what to do in an emergency situation, such as if a patient suffered a cardiac arrest.

The CQC added that all wards were clean, well-equipped and well-maintained, and staff knew about risks to each patient and acted on preventing them. Staff were open and transparent, investigated incidents thoroughly, and delivered care in line with best practice.

Hospital Director Natalie Southgate said: “We are very pleased to have achieved ‘good’ in all areas, and I am immensely proud of the hard work that the whole team have put into this. We are also delighted with the ‘outstanding areas of practice’ as identified by the regulator in its report, and we will continue to build on these areas to ensure that patients continue to receive the very best care.”

Priory CEO Rebekah Cresswell said: “We are very proud of everyone at Priory Hospital Southampton and their strong commitment to quality and effective patient care. This is clearly demonstrated in their inspection results and this positive rating from the CQC.”

Anyone interested in joining Priory and pursuing an apprenticeship should contact [email protected] or visit the Priory jobs website.

ENDS

Contact: [email protected]

About Priory and MEDIAN

Priory is the UK’s leading independent provider of mental health services. We treat more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across our nationwide network of sites. We also support autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within our specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.

Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, one of Europe’s leading providers of high quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises 290 facilities with 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people in the UK, 120 facilities with 20,000 beds caring for around 250,000 patients in Germany, and 15 facilities with 2,000 beds caring for 13,000 people in Spain, with more than 29,000 employees overall.