- Winner of ‘Public/Private Partnership of the Year’
- Judges praised £5.5 million investment in NHS services
- Pioneering developments in care for autistic people and people with a learning disability
Priory’s work to support mental health patients in partnership with the NHS has been recognised at a leading healthcare industry awards event.
Priory won in the category of ‘Public/Private Partnership of the Year’ at the HealthInvestor Awards 2025 held last night (Wednesday, 4 June) at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Priory, which is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and working-age adult social care services, treats more than 70 conditions and supports 26,000 people a year across 280 sites.
Key aspects of its partnership include ensuring 24/7 emergency access for NHS patients requiring acute mental health care, psychiatric intensive care support, eating disorder treatment and child and adolescent mental healthcare.
These specialist services ensure that patients receive timely, personalised care. What sets Priory apart is its unique ability to provide support across the entire health and social care pathway — from acute inpatient care to community-based services.
Investment in NHS services and pioneering developments
Judges praised Priory’s “significant investment” in NHS services – with £5.5 million spent last year to create further dedicated acute mental health wards to treat patients closer to home – as well as the delivery of high quality and safe care, with 87% of Priory sites rated good or better by independent regulators – which is above the national average for equivalent services.
Other achievements noted included more people than ever moving from secure to less restrictive environments, and length of stay for acute mental health patients which is 16 days shorter than the national average.
In addition, judges recognised pioneering developments in care for autistic people and people with a learning disability, including the creation of assessment and transition directors and a new model of care known as bespoke therapeutic placements.
Collaboration “more vital than ever”
Rebekah Cresswell, Chief Executive Officer of Priory, said: “On behalf of everyone at Priory I want to say how delighted we are to have received this recognition for our work to support NHS patients as an integral part of the health and social care system.
“Our colleagues work tirelessly to support our patients and residents, helping them to live their lives as fully and as independently as possible, and to help ensure the NHS has the capacity it needs so that people receive the specialist care they need as close to home as possible.
“We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship further at what is a very challenging time across the health and social care system, meaning it is more vital than ever to collaborate as effectively as we can to deliver the care people need and deserve.”
Priory was also a finalist in the ‘Private Hospital Group of the Year’ and ‘Specialist Care Provider of the Year’ categories.