Grieving dad demands new probe into private hospital chain after four deaths at same site

The father of a young man who ‘died needlessly’ after escaping from a private hospital has called for a fresh criminal investigation after the deaths of four young women at another of the company's sites. Richard Caseby’s son, Matthew, was hit by a train after absconding from the Priory Woodbourne hospital in Harborne when he was left "inappropriately unattended" in September 2020.

The Priory healthcare group was charged with two criminal offences over the death of the 23-year-old and fined £650,000 after admitting a safety failing. Richard Caseby has campaigned for three years against the privately-run group after an inquest found his son’s death was contributed to by ‘neglect.’

He has now called for a criminal investigation into the ‘fundamentally dangerous company’ after the deaths of four young women at a Priory facility in Manchester - including Amina Ismail, aged 20 and from Birmingham. Priory said the ‘tragic’ deaths of the young woman were ‘completely unconnected’ and Priory was a ‘safe provider’ that supported ‘the most complex and acutely-unwell people in the country.’

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On Monday April 29, a coroner is set to examine the death of Ms Ismail, who died at the Cheadle Royal Hospital in Stockport in September 2023. Three other young women died at the same unit in 2022 - Beth Matthews, 26, Lauren Bridges, 20, and 30-year-old Deseree Fitzpatrick.

“The Priory is a fundamentally dangerous company, one that persistently refuses to learn from its mistakes and neglect,” Caseby said. ”The roll call of death and disgrace at its hospitals just gets longer. The Priory should be investigated and prosecuted again.”

An inquest into Ms Ismail's death was opened in October 2023 with loved ones describing her as the 'kindest, purest friend you could ever meet'. At the time of her death, she had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act for a number of months, and was under observation every 15 minutes.

Priory said it was unable to comment on her death pending the upcoming inquest - and the three deaths in 2022 were ‘completely unconnected’. A spokesperson said: “The three deaths in early 2022, although extremely tragic, are completely unconnected and happened on three separate wards offering different clinical services.

“They have been subject to our own internal investigations and inquests, and have been reported on extensively.”

On claims Priory was a ‘fundamentally dangerous company, a spokesperson said: “Priory is a safe provider and regulated in the same way as the NHS and other independent providers. Currently 84.3 per cent of our services are rated good or better by regulators, which is above the national average.

“We care for 28,000 people a year who have overwhelmingly positive outcomes, and we work collaboratively with the NHS and our other commissioning partners to support some of the most complex and acutely-unwell people in the country.”