support worker

registered nurse

registered mental health nurse

healthcare assistant

therapist

Priory Group

I currently work where there are multiple supported living sites across the area.
Depending on which site you are assigned to, depends on who your direct supervisor will be. Different sites have different supervisors assigned to them.
This will affect your experience overall.
Some supervisors are great and will try their best to support you and mentor you to grow. Others couldn't  care and once you are in the door, they will leave you to get on with it with no supervision, no mentoring and expect you to know what you are doing.
One of the main issues is that these supervisors aren't able to be on site most of the time, partly due to the role they have, they need to be at head office to do paperwork but also because they have multiple sites they are responsible for. 
This often means that some sites wont see a supervisor for long periods during a week. This means the supervisors rely totally on the support staff to train new staff, but the staff themselves haven't been fully trained on what they should and need to be doing, thus resulting in a poor care culture developing at some sites. 

Senior management aren't too bad but again there are issues. They spend so much time having to deal with the little issues arising that they don't have the time to be doing what the main role should be. They are always playing catch up on the job and will often delegate stuff to the supervisors to do but they wont and they then drop it on some poor support worker to do and just expect them to get on with it and when it isn't done right, because nobody showed them or trained them, poor support worker gets a warning.
There can be a high turn over of staff at times. This is fairly normal for any care company to be honest. However, if management looked after their staff better, showed them a little recognition and respect and trained them effectively to do the role, they would keep a lot more staff. 
So the company loses well trained staff, experienced staff because they don't look after them enough. 
I have worked with some companies in care that are not best suited to care.
Priory is better at a lot of things but you do have to stand up for it and I do mean stand up. Those supervisors I mentioned can get in the way so you do at times have to go over their heads and ignore them to get what you need or want, either for yourself or for your clients.
Pay is okay, Its now set at real living wage levels.
Most of the clients we work with are not highly challenging but other places pay more but you have highly challenging clients. Its a trade off if you want a higher pay packet isn't it.

I do enjoy the work and the clients. 
Like any care role, there is a ton of paperwork and sometimes I feel someone is just coming up with new forms because they are sat at home with nothing better to do. But I do realise and know from experience that the paperwork is important, that being said, there are a lot of staff throughout the area at sites who still don't know what some of it is and how to complete it because supervisors are not training them and mentoring them on how to do it. So a lot of stuff doesn't get done. Which then affects the clients they support. Poor management and poor staff support in these areas on training staff how to do the job more effectively. 
There are a lot of opportunities to develop yourself outside the core training modules. There is all the usual stuff, 1st aid,  safeguarding and so on but there are a lot more than you can identify to better yourself and improve upon your skills and experience and Priory pay for these themselves at no cost to the staff member. This is great. Sometimes finding these opportunities can be tricky and it will come down to who you know that can guide towards some of the options available. 
Training outside the normal core topics has to be applied for via the supervisor and then manager but sometimes you have to argue for it and prove that it will be relevant to your role and make you a better worker.
If you are thinking of being a supervisor, they call them Locality Co-Ordinators, prepare to have no free time at all, I mean none. There is an on call system, you don't get paid for on call but staff will often contact you even if you are not on call. Even other supervisors/management will call you when you are not on call and are on a day off. 
it is constant.
Most of the time it is really simple stuff, that again if the staff had been trained effectively, they would be able to deal with it themselves without contacting management on call.
As a means of getting training, experience and opportunities outside of your main role, it is great and go ahead and join. Then jump ship with all that, to the role you really want to do. For example; you can join as a support worker, get all your training, be in the role at least a year, maybe 2,  pick up some training outside the core modules and then jump/transfer to health care assistant and train to be a nurse. Priory will pay for this and at the end of your nurse training, you will be fully qualified and have no debt for training. 
Or jump ship to another company which can offer you what you are looking for.
There are some great staff, staff who know what they are doing and are just fantastic. Like anywhere, there are those who are trying to get by with doing as little as possible sat on their phones all shift.
Check your pay. supervisors often get it wrong.
Keep a copy of everything you agree to, hours worked, meetings, emails. Keep a copy.
If it isn't written down, it never happened.
You may need these records to prove that something was said or agreed to at a later date. .

Abuse of power and authority can take various forms in this home. Examples include: Bullying  and harassing staff to get them out,  behaviour by managers and seniors the friends of The managers Requesting staff to do personal errands or favours.
“There are soooo many bad managers,” working at Redcar with unqualified seniors promoted due to being friends and related to management.  I would not even give this a one star rating 

you that you can be fired . . . “heh, heh, just kidding.”
They humiliate you in front of others.
To their team or department they’re yellers, screamers, or cursers and when called on it say “Everyone knows I don’t mean it when I do that” and they clean it up nicely when meeting up the chain of command.
Their primary exercise is jumping to conclusions because they have a “busy desk.”
They don’t want to be confused by the facts after they’ve made a decision.
They openly play favorites with members of their team and isolate themselves from those they don’t like.
They get angry if you propose an idea to one of their peers they can’t take credit for.
They exclude you from meetings on projects you are part of.
They withhold information you need to do your job, saying “I’ll tell you when you need to know.”
Even though they’ve approved your vacation time and it’s on the calendar, they want you to remind them of your vacation the week before.
They concoct false emergencies while you’re on vacation or traveling for business and then berate you for not having answered your email or phone while you were gone, even after you told them you'd have limited or no access.
They forever place you on their mental S-list. And no, S does not stand for special.
They retaliate against anyone who does not agree with them, or in their eyes, makes them look bad.
They laugh at you when you share good news about a project.
They grudgingly express gratitude for a job well done because “that’s your job.”
The few accolades they do give sound forced or disingenuous.
They don’t listen to your warnings about adverse consequences of their decisions because “you’ll do as you’re told.”
They let you know leadership “stuff” is well . . . stuff. It clearly it doesn’t apply to them, because after all, do you know who they ARE?
They treat you like the “hired help.”
They base your performance review on what they remember you did last week or if you’re lucky, last month. Reviews are done on a last in first out basis.
They use performance reviews as a thinly disguised mechanism for justifying a predetermined raise or denying a raise and it has little to do with your actual performance or contribution to the company.
They play games with performance reviews and raises, making sure you sign your review before the raise goes in effect to make sure you don’t add any comments their boss might see.
They collect negative feedback in a “Pearl Harbor” file and dump it on you during an annual performance review instead of providing real time feedback when you can explain what happened (see further item #4 above) or take corrective action.
They view management as a game of “gottcha” instead of a collaboration and opportunity for joint problem solving.
They’re not beneath lying, attributing words to you you never said, and actions you never did.
They don’t update you on important developments and then blame you for not knowing about them.
They discourage you from asking questions with their condescending or intimidating behavior.
They like to brag about how rich they are and who they know.
They don’t enforce company policies evenly.
They sneer at the notion of anyone desiring or deserving career development or advancement, except their own.
They don’t really care about the work you do.
They trivialize important problems.
They believe asking for help makes them look weak.
They like to remind you how lucky you are to have a job.
They would throw their grandmother under the bus to save a dime on their budget and increase their bonus.
They put the company’s best interests second.
They believe they’ve garnered enough influence within the organization to become untouchable, and their word will be believed over yours.
They display zero empathy or compassion when your spouse dies; but, suddenly give an Academy Award worthy performance the second they hear their boss asked for directions to the memorial service.
They physically throw objects at you.
They only respect you in proportion to your ability to afford them a political advantage.
They love watching the parking lot at starting and quitting time and would make ankle monitoring bracelets mandatory for all employees if they could.
They believe working remotely means you’re watching Oprah reruns and eating bonbons.
They assume you’re goofing off anytime you’re not in the office.
They make you feel compelled to use vacation time for your doctor’s appointments.
They expect you to come to work if you have a pulse, never mind if you’re sick, could infect the entire office, or inclement weather makes roads treacherous or impassable.
They are masters at turning a Friday business trip into a weekend boondoggle paid for by a vendor who also arranges “dates.”
They don’t like your “attitude” but offer no concrete examples of what they don’t like or what they’d like you to do to fix it.
The only transparency they value is the kind used on an old school overhead projector when their PowerPoint or Keynote dies.


As you might imagine, the conversation went nowhere because HR wouldn’t take action unless a manager had done something illegal.

That’s right. Crossing the line of human decency wasn’t enough

Priory have a good package of benefits which makes the company attractive to work for. However consider what part of priory you are applying for and what service. 

Pros
A good hourly rate of pay however this will be erased when the national living wage goes up in April 2019
Double time on Bank Holidays
A good an flexible pensions scheme that allows you to adjust your contributions and the company contributes to
A good Physical intervention course that’s regulated and accredited externally 

Cons 
No overtime rate just an enhancement that’s hard to implement only agreed to when desperate for staff. Process so difficult managers don’t bother or staff must wait months to sometimes be paid it
Many managers in finance, employees relations are peripatetic or work from home very hard to get hold of and can takes days to reply to calls or emails
With exception of the Physical intervention training and PBS training very poor face to face training often organised in remote places and staff not paid for travelling time amd sometimes mileage 
Poor induction
Online training must be done in working hours to be paid which is not always possible otherwise unpaid in your own time 


Priory Adult Care for the Midlands appears to care more for profit than it’s responsibility to those that live in its services and staff compliance with online training stats that is obsessional. 

Shocking management from service manager upwards. The service I work at the manager stays locked away in the office and makes no attempt to come on the floor or support  staff during staff shortages but is quick to find fault and question what staff are doing or not doing on the occasion they come to the main house. The manager does not know the People we support yet makes decisions that effect them which clearly identifies this. I don’t believe this is the exception to rule but I know of other Managers in priory that do work with staff and know their service staff and people we support well. 

The majority of training is online which staff should if a proper induction given complete the majority of training during the first two weeks in theory. In reality staff are rushed into working due to poor staffing and pressure from operation managers and the managing director to keep agency costs down. Staff are expected to complete this training during working hours if expected to be paid otherwise in their own time for free. If unable to find the time due to long working hours or family commitments staff told they are no compliant and informed they won’t be able to come to work. 

A huge culture of blame, previous management have been blamed for everything not right despite manager being in post for 6 months. At senior management level there is a culture of ignorance turning a blind eye to problems, pretending they don’t exist or claiming they don’t know they exist. Will hold face to face contact with staff listen to grievances or hold contact groups on how to improve a service only you pay lip service and then do nothing and give no feedback to staff or any progress on what was discussed

Questionable decisions made by employee relations department in regards to management of staff and discipline. They will attempt to will rush through proceedings and attempt to deny union representation at meetings borderline breaching employment law.

I worked here with an agency and loved it so much that I worked there regularly. I was offered a job and happily took it! Took 3 months to start as there was always a delay. I worked there for 8 months before being dismissed, and the last few months were awful. 

I worked really hard. I loved the service users and they began to approach me more and I developed a great rapport with them! But no one acknowledged my hard work or praised me. But every tiny little thing, I’d be picked on for it. I had my probation review and it was extended 3 months due to struggling on the ward with completing certain tasks. Then a month later I was dismissed for ‘refusing to do the role of security nurse’ ‘refusing to do the role of activity coordinator’ ‘refusing to work on other wards’. NONE of this true. I actively sought out support and further training for these roles and I was turned down due to the demands on the ward. I attempted to do the roles myself without any guidance and made a couple mistakes. I was completely victimised on a daily basis and bullied by staff. I was belittled and given attitude and ganged up on. The person carrying out my weekly reviews after my extension would discuss praise with me in person, and write something entirely different on the paperwork and made me sign it. I refused to sign the last one but they stated that I did sign it which means it could have been forged. They completely lied about my dismissal saying I could carry out these roles and refused when I didn’t. I couldn’t work on one of the wards coz I have a partner on there and they used that as another reason for dismissal. I think that’s disgusting as it’s very personal, my relationship had nothing to do with it. I was told in the dismissal meeting “if the ward was run by people like you it wouldn’t run” which was horribly insulting since I worked so hard daily, whilst being riddled with anxiety and being bullied. I loved my colleagues they were great and made some great friends, but some senior staff/nurses and management are disgusting. I tried to appeal but have no rights at all which is entirely unfair as nothing they said was true.

I told them I have things documented for proof and they didn’t acknowledge it and didn’t believe me. I was horribly mistreated and they can get away with it coz I wasn’t there for two years and was on probation. They dismissed me on the spot, no notice at all. I was told “after 8 months you should be competent in these roles” in which I stated, I haven’t been trained or supported. She said I was trained and had times to shadow staff which I didn’t due to ward demands. They should be questioning the ones documenting this and investigating it rather than just dismissing me on the spot. One member of management kept bringing my mental health into it for no reason at all saying I’m not well enough for the job. Disgusting management I’m now unemployed, struggling to find a job with bills to pay and student loans to pay off. And my mental health has deteriorated with how I’ve been treated. Absolutely furious there’s nothing I can do about it.

At the time I started there was some upheaval in the management structure, though this doesn't excuse the problems I encountered. Management were very lax in replying to my attempts to contact them and keeping me in the loop. My emails were frequently left unanswered for weeks at a time and the office phone was usually not answered as all staff were busy attempting to provide care with inadequate support. 

Communication within the building was equally troublesome as there was no method to contact other co-workers for support in the event of an issue and not enough staff present to provide assistance if it was needed. It took months before I was provided with a key fob to get into the building so I was often left standing outside as no one was available to answer the door.

In my first few months of working there, training was non-existent.
I attended several, frequently rearranged and last minute, shadow shifts where I was usually left to sit in a corner reading care plans and safety procedures with no one to ask for advice or clarification and no information on if/when I would be given training. Staff were often asked to begin working with service users before completing their inductions or being first aid qualified. I was not confident I could adequately provide care to the service users as no support was available in the event of difficulties, communication with management was frequently impossible and problems escalated to upper management were often ignored.

I got a sense that at least some of the site managers were doing what they could to improve the situation, but did not have adequate support or funding, or time to make changes as they were usually also required to provide direct care due to lack of staff. Several came and went while I was there, though no one informed me that there had been a change in who I was to report to and I was left emailing one former manager for weeks with no reply before being informed they had left, not that I noticed the difference as they had not been consistent in answering beforehand either.

The support staff themselves were wonderful, always trying their best to help those in their care and each other, but they just didn't have the support of management, time, funding or training to improve things and their shifts were so inconsistent and last minute that their work life balance was very draining.

Overall, I would not recommend Priory as an employer or care provider, though my experience is limited to the local area I interacted with (upper management never replied to my attempts to contact them about my concerns).

The Ayr clinic used to be PiC but is now Priory Group.  
Working at the Ayr Clinic for me has been a great experience. I feel I need to write after reading previous reviews, albeit this is my experience, but to be fair on the teams as a whole I feel I need to share my views. As any mental health environment can bring it's challenges, particularly a secure service. Having a number of years experience in mental health I thoroughly enjoy working at the clinic as a mental health professional I am able to develop my nursing skills and knowledge which in turn allows development in best practice. (the clinic has won awards) being able to work with patients through their recovery brings satisfaction and fulfilment into the good work that the teams deliver. The management team are visible and approachable. there was a change in management a few years ago which brought positive changes to the clinic.
Staff enjoy working at the clinic and there is good team working. some staff may not settle in as it can be a challenging and acute environment, but not everyone is cut out for working with acute patients. we are specialised in working in this environment and given training to update and maintain skills.
Sometimes it can be difficult due to clinical changes on the wards and staffing needs to be increased, staff all help out to support each other and OT and bank shifts are offered. Enhanced rates for OT and paid training. All meals are provided which save me a small fortune in my weekly shop:) we eat with patients, this time is less formal and patients enjoy it. Breaks can be taken throughout the day of course at times this is hard but with teams helping each other out to organise breaks.
Im proud of being part of the teams and the effort and commitment that is put in to support the patient groups through their recovery and time of need.

experience is invaluable to help develop best practice in mental health.

Mayfield house is a beautifully located building, in the middle of nowhere ran by Priory Group. Where do I start? I’ve worked here for just over two years and I’ve never had such a poorly paid job for the work that you do there, with “children” who have very complex needs on a 1-1 basis which is never met, staffing is so poor, there is a vast turn over, sometimes you’re lucky to have a full team of staff, most of the time you’re left in the most dangerous situations with minimal staff who aren’t trained correctly or don’t have the ability to work competently with the young people, new staff have to wait a long time for restraint training but are then left alone with the most dangerous individuals. 
The staff are constantly nagged on their days off and whilst they’re in school to do overtime and are made to feel guilty when they don’t stay. 
When you escort to school, there’s a total of 4 children max in a mini bus, you then sit with them whilst travelling to school which is a 15 minutes away from residence, you’re then allocated with a child that you don’t know as they’re either from another residence or still living at home with their family. 
The extent of injuries on staff, I’ve seen whilst working here are horrific, in your contract it states, challenging behaviour-minor punches, kicking and spitting. Staff have had hair pulled out in chunks, bite marks, cuts, broken bones, spitting, objects thrown, black eyes and also the extent of being knocked out. 
Whilst being paid for £9.05 an hour, but not forgetting the pay rise of 1%!  
14 members of long term staff have left within the past 3 months and the support from management is terrible. Staff have left with PTSD from being attacked on a regular basis. 
Young people aren’t having their needs met whilst living in residence, half of the children need therapy and real professional help but unfortunately these children and young people are having their needs neglected. 
I hope they manage to sort their issues out so they can at least keep some staff.

Working for Priory appears to be a challenging and unsatisfactory experience. Here's a summary of the key points:

High Stress and Pressure: There is immense pressure to admit service users and bend assessment rules to maximize revenue. This creates a stressful work environment.
Dishonesty in CQC Visits: The company seems to engage in dishonest practices during inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Top-Down Pressure for Admissions: There is significant pressure from higher management to ensure high hospital occupancy and admissions, likely impacting staff workload and patient care.
Lack of Recognition and Reward: Despite the demanding work, there is minimal recognition or reward for employees.
Dishonest Culture and Unqualified Managers: The company culture is perceived as dishonest, and many managers lack qualifications and values necessary for their roles.
Poor Work-Life Balance: Managers do not support employees' family life, leading to dissatisfaction among staff.
Salary Disparity: While salaries for nurses and support workers are slightly above average, managers are paid below-average wages compared to industry standards.
Unhealthy Culture and Training Issues: The overall culture is described as unhealthy, and promised training often does not meet expectations.
Low Employee Morale: Many employees, including managers, are unhappy and depressed while working at Priory.
High Turnover of Managers: The turnover rate for managers is notably high, with many leaving within a year or two of starting, including directors.
Given these observations, it is evident that Priory may not be a recommended workplace due to its challenging environment, lack of support, and overall dissatisfaction among employees. The issues you described, including dishonest practices, high turnover rates, and poor work-life balance, highlight significant concerns about the company's operations and employee welfare.

I have been with the company for several years and although there were indeed teething problems I am fully committed to the Priory philosophy. 

The team I work with, regardless of how high the turnover may be, are always supportive and friendly and adaptable. The Priory does a fantastic job of employing those with a 'can do' attitude, which is one of the most important aspects of working within this environment. Even the most challenging of days can be made bearable with this kind of team around you.

Working in a secure environment can prove challenging. Although this may be "the hardest part of the job" in the eyes of some, for me it provides the strongest feeling of acheivement and personal reward when the team and myself successfully manage challenging situations effectively and assist our service users along the path of their recovery in their time with us.

The money is always an area for debate and the starting wage is indeed not fanatastic for the new and less experienced, which rings true for almost all professions these days, however there are opportunities to progress and increments in wage following the end of each tax year. Also working weekends and less sociable hours provide further enhancements to your wage packet.

Currently in my hospital we have a strong management team around who are all approachable, helpful, knowledgeable and will move mountains to assist their workforce. The senior management team is second to none and I can't offer enough superlatives to our new hospital director who has galvanised the hospital team and given them a greater sense of direction.

I highly recommend working within the priory to all who may be interested in a career in healthcare. The opportunities to progress are plenty and when you find the correct environment for you, you'll be happy to stay for a long time.

Riverview is a beautiful home supporting service users in their own flats/rooms. Everything is completely person centered and the care and support given to the service users and staff is amazing. All the staff are fun and bubbly and always happy, the staff always have eachothers backs if someone has a problem and are so so supportive. It's a great place to be. The management are also extremely supportive and approachable and will always help you and be flexible as much as possible to meet your needs. 
There are some tough days/nights, busy days, relaxed days. No 2 days are the same as the famous saying goes and it really is true. It can be challenging but also it's very rewarding and it's not just simply "caring". It's bringing out the best in our service users and eachother, promoting independence and self achievement for our service users. We work as a great team and it shows! ( CQC outstanding ).

There is currently staff shortage for many reasons, staff progressing their career, career changes, having children etc and although you get the general moans and groans of any work place there is no one leaving with Riverview being the reason, it's because they are moving on. The staff shortage is putting some pressure on the staff which is difficult and it is felt all round but there is a slight over time rate currently. But when an established team is built back up it runs so smoothly and there is good in every day. 

The company offer personalised career pathways, there are many opportunities to progress your career, complete qualifications and plan each step of the way to your dream job. 

I encourage any one to apply because it's so welcoming and the atmosphere is great and the work we do is fun and so rewarding! 

I'm proud to work here and always enjoy each day as it comes.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 1442 salaries reported	£13.15 per hour
Registered nurse 107 salaries reported	£19.46 per hour
Registered mental health nurse 270 salaries reported	£37,128 per year
Healthcare assistant 256 salaries reported	£12.75 per hour
Therapist 163 salaries reported	£39,181 per year

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