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Priory to open Darlington facility

The Priory, best known for providing celebrities with help to overcome their addictions, is to run its first North East facility.

The Priory Group is expected to take ownership of Middleton St George Hospital, near Darlington, after agreeing to buy the Affinity Healthcare Group last week.

Affinity, which runs facilities for people with mental health issues, has been looking for a buyer since last year. Although no final decision has been made the facility is expected to be rebranded as The Priory – Middleton St George.

The purchase is subject to Office of Fair Trading approval, but is expected to be concluded in the next few weeks.

Priory chief executive Philip Scott said: “It makes commercial sense to combine our portfolios to ensure all stakeholders benefit from the value that a larger hospital group will deliver.

“Affinity is a high-quality business and will fit well into the hospital division operated at Priory.”

Affinity chief executive Tommy MacDonald-Milner said: “Affinity is achieving strong profit growth at a time when other firms have had a hard time. It is an established provider of high-quality complex mental health services to the NHS.

“Its business is a good fit with the Priory, and I am pleased we have agreed a deal that will permit the merger.

“It means a greater range of integrated, high-quality services will be on offer.”

Although best known for treating celebrity addictions, The Priory Group’s hospitals offer treatment programmes and therapy services for a wide variety of mental health issues, including depression, addictions, eating disorders and child and adolescent mental health services.

Priory Education Services is the UK’s leading independent provider of education and care for children and young people aged four to 35 with Asperger’s syndrome, autistic spectrum disorders, behavioural, emotional and social difficulties and specific learning difficulties associated with dyslexia.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .