Suicidal patients at a famous private hospital are unsafe on its acute wards, a health watchdog has found.

The Priory Hospital in Roehampton, famed for its use by celebrities with drug and alcohol addictions, eating disorders and other mental health problems, was served with a warning over unsafe staffing levels after a visit from Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.

Staff could not easily see all parts of acute wards and patients had access to empty corridors and staff offices, according to the CQC’s report, which was published today.

Dr Sylvia Tang, CEO of Priory Healthcare, said it was “disappointing” that the inspection came part-way through a £1.2million improvement programme, which has now been completed.

Wandsworth Times:

This risk to unsupervised patients on acute wards was increased because of fixtures and fittings that suicidal patients could have used to attach a cord or rope for hanging or strangulation, inspectors wrote.

The Priory had an action plan in place to make improvements to the environment, the watchdog found, but staff at the hospital had not taken sufficient action to reduce these risks.

Inspectors rated the hospital as ‘requires improvement’ for being responsive and well-led, ‘good’ for being effective and caring, and ‘inadequate’ for keeping patients safe.

The hospital in Priory Lane, Roehampton was said to 'require improvement' overall after an inspection in October 2016.

Wandsworth Times:

Dr Paul Lelliott, Deputy Chief Inspector for mental health at the CQC said: "The hospital must ensure it can meet the needs of patients they choose to admit whilst improvements to staffing and the environment take place.

“We did, however, find some improvements and noted that the provider had implemented a pre-admission risk assessment. This included a handover system for ensuring staff noted risks.

“The wards also provided a comprehensive range of psychological therapies, including dialectical behavioural therapy, mindfulness, and family therapy. Occupational therapists and dietitians facilitated activities and discussion groups.”

Dr Tang, CEO of Priory Healthcare said: “Roehampton is a safe hospital providing high quality care and treatment and we remain fully committed to making improvements for the benefit of all of our patients.

“We question CQC’s findings in relation to staffing. Our rotas show that appropriate staff-patient ratios have been maintained and, over the last year, we have reduced the vacancy rate for nurses by more than 50 per cent, despite a national shortage of nurses.”

To read the report in full, visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-127132286