Priory Group Limited

3. Ms L was admitted to the organisation in June 2019 and discharged in September 2019.

Ms L complains about the following aspects of her stay:

• she was diagnosed as psychotic or in the acute stage of acute mania (mania is a state of extremely heightened energy or a drastic change in a person’s usual behaviour and thought patterns). Her records also state she was in the grip of grandiose delusions (a false belief in one’s power or importance that can cause confusion between what is real and what is not). Ms L says this is incorrect • her records say she was non-compliant with medication, spat it out and had no insight into her condition. Ms L says this is untrue • she says she was not acutely mentally unwell nor did she have a mental disorder that justified detention under section two of the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 • the organisation’s management of her medication was chaotic, inconsistent and not based on her mental state or symptoms. Her previous medication regime that had been effective was ignored • she was placed on suicide watch without any justification, which aggravated her mental health • she experienced racism and discrimination. Ms L says staff gave favourable treatment to English patients in terms of support, time and help when asked for. Staff made comments about Ms L’s nationality, showing they thought she did not deserve the same level of care and amount of time they gave to English patients • she was physically assaulted and intimidated by both male and female members of staff and suffered physical injury as a result • her MHA status was not correctly documented because of administration errors at the organisation, leading to her being incorrectly detained • some of her possessions were stolen from her room, showing the organisation failed to protect her property.

• Ms L’s consultant did not support her, blaming her for her illness and her inability to control herself when she had lost the ability to think and lost control of her bodily functions.

• Staff ignored Ms L when she lost the ability to think or control her bodily functions, leaving her to wander around the organisation and be abused by staff and other patients.

• Her gluten allergy was ignored.

• Staff did not respect Ms L’s privacy, carrying out observations when she was changing in her room.

4. As a result, Ms L says she continues to relive the trauma she experienced during her stay at the organisation and has regular flashbacks. Her hair has fallen out due to the stress. She is paying to see a psychotherapist because of the failings of NHS services and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She says she was unable to work for several months due to ongoing, trauma-related symptoms. She is taking more medication because of the trauma and has suffered a financial loss because she is paying for her therapy.

5. Ms L wants an apology and financial compensation.

6. Ms L was admitted to the organisation in June 2019 under section two of the MHA.

7. Ms L was taken off section two in July 2019 but remained in hospital as a voluntary patient. Her paperwork was not updated because of administrative errors the organisation has accepted. Her records show she was held under section two for approximately three more days than she should have been.

8. In late July 2019, staff reviewed Ms L and held her under section three of the MHA. She was discharged in September 2019.

11. The law says we cannot investigate a complaint if a person has the option to take legal action, unless we consider this is unreasonable. We have discussed this with Ms L to understand her circumstances and the outcomes she wants. We do not consider whether legal action would succeed but whether it is a reasonable option.

12. Ms L and her legal team are in the process of taking legal action against the organisation.

13. If Ms L is unsuccessful in her legal action, she may be able to bring her case back to us for further consideration.

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has carefully considered Ms L’s complaint about the Priory Hospital (the organisation). We are sorry to hear about the problems Ms L describes following her admittance to the organisation and the distress they caused.

2. We have decided we cannot take any further action on Ms L’s complaint because she is taking legal action against the organisation.