Priory Hospital Chelmsford Springfield Green, Springfield, Chelmsford CM1 7SJ

"Incredible staff and cosy environment, that made me feel safe and relaxed. Proud to still be in recovery 9 years later, with where I would not be in the position without The Priory."

"i stayed here just over a year ago as an Nhs patient during lockdown i found in general the Staff here to be best i have ever encountered in a hospital of this type and the doctor to be very understanding and empathetic the level of care is head and shoulders above Nhs hospitals which to be honest virtually all need seriously investigating or shutting down i have. no complaints about this place though."

"This place is disgusting it should come with a health warning, excuse the punn. Not fit for purpose. DONT SEND YOUR LOVED ONES TO THIS COMPANY. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, HAVE NO GENUINE EMPATHTY FOR THE PATIENTS. My partner went here voluntary to treat his bipolar for several weeks. He paid for his own care but most people had private insurance cover. One man was made to leave early in the morning on the day that his insurance cover expired though he was clearly still very unwell. My partner was allowed to stay in bed all day so this is what he did. He didn't have to attend his counselling sessions, though only 2 private sessions were offered a week, the rest were group sessions. He didn't wash or clean his teeth until my third complaint. After my visits, any concerns I raised were rarely passed on. The care staff were mostly from overseas, very nice individuals but many had a poor command of English and comunication was difficult which my partner found unsettling. His dirty washing was all piled up in a corner of his small bedroom. They didn't wash your clothes for you!! They had washing facilities that the patients could use but my partner was too unwell to do this and the staff hadn't offered to help him. I took all his dirty washing home for him even though he was paying £900 a night. They plied him with pills, he didn't receive any treatment as such. He was just throwing thousands of pounds down the drain. On the day I went to collect him he was standing in the hallway waiting for me with his suitcase clutching his bag of prescribed medication. He had to go back for monthly outpatient visits to discuss his medication with his consultant 'extra charge of course' My partner was like a zombie, the tablets took over his whole being. His personality had faded away consumed by the tablets. When his medication was altered the consultant told both of us to let him know immediately if there were any side effects. There were. My partner thought I was trying to blow him up. He was paranoid. Up at 2am pacing up and down. Despite my continual efforts to speak with the consultant, he didn't call me back and his GP was unable to take over his treatment while he was still under the care of the Priory. All of this took a considerable strain on my own health and wellbeing. I was left to deal with him on my own. He will never be 100% well but I would never want to see him hand back his care to the Priory. He was originally in Southgate Priory because Chelmsford was full but the standard of care there wasn't much better though the communal areas of the premises were pretty amazing. I will never take back the comments in my post. This company charges a fortune and the standard of care was appalling."

"On arrival, we were past by some workers in reception who I heard them say they had just passed a couple of nutters. Now seeing that i being admitted with mental health issues is not what I wanted to hear. I was shown to the ward where you have to fill out about 10 pages of questions , which when your head is racing doesn't help. The room I was given was clean and very basic, maybe I set my expectations to high. The next day I was told I had to leave the room as someone else needed it.so packed everything back in the case and up the 4th floor. The room had no TV but would be perfect for growing tropical plants. I complained and once again packed all my stuff into my case and back to my original room. The food is very average and on 1 occasion I missed everything meal by a minute. The chef said all food was gone i then said so I have no dinner .he replied I thought you were all getting takeaway. The only plus side i can give this place is the staff who are amazing. My final note is ive been told the one in Surrey is far better. Thank god I'm out of there .Priory , spend some of that money on this place and stop resting back on a name. Also once you leave the priory any follow ups are treated as a second rate patient. I had an appointment which wasn't confirmed via email or text . The whole Priory set up is useless PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PLACE . Some Dr's are good but most are only there for the money."

"It's not what it used to be a lot of the success is built on its reputation a lot of the staff are overworked and underpaid they use a lot of zero hours contract as a bank staff There is a phenomenal amount of paperwork which doesn't give the staff a lot of time to do what they were trained for and passionate to do care for patience. You need to be conscious the car park is very small considering the amount of staff out patients and visitors if you time it wrong you'll have to wait 20 to 40 minutes to get a parking space but having said all that it is probably the best in the area others are absolutely diabolical"