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Priory opens new Clinic in Oxford city centre

Priory opens ‘fast access’ Wellbeing Centre in Oxford to provide treatment for those with mental health difficulties

The Priory Group, which runs the largest independent network of mental healthcare hospitals and clinics in the country, has opened its first high street clinic in Oxford.

The Wellbeing Centre, in New Inn Hall Street, is fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and provides therapy and treatments for conditions including depression, anxiety, stress, anger management, eating disorders, addictions and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The Priory Group has invested more than £300,000 in the Centre which will be staffed by consultant psychiatrists, psychologists and a range of individual, group and family therapists.

It offers fast access to affordable assessment and treatment for young people via its specialist CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), and student support services. It takes referrals from individuals, GPs and schools, and accepts self-funding patients and those with health insurance. Too often people do not realise their health insurance will cover a mental health assessment and treatment.

Dr Hayley van Zwanenberg, Clinical Director of Priory Group’s Wellbeing Centres and Priory Group’s Associate Medical Director, is part of the Oxford Wellbeing Centre team, and specialises in psychiatry for young people.

Dr van Zwanenberg has worked with children and adolescents with a variety of mental health difficulties, some with complex school and home situations, resulting in positive outcomes. She brings vast knowledge and experience to support patients.

She said; “It is a pleasure to be able to assess and treat young people in the Wellbeing Clinics especially in Oxford where there has been a need for some time. Assisting young people to recover swiftly from mental illness and to learn strategies that will serve them well throughout their life is very rewarding.

“Our ethos has always been to promote the importance of early assessment and diagnosis. This stops unnecessary suffering for children, adolescents and their families. We hope that by offering a friendly and discreet service that is accessible and convenient, we can play an active part in supporting all our patients towards a better quality of life and long-term recovery.”

Research conducted by the Education Policy Institute’s Independent Commission on Children and Young People’s Mental Health in November found that a quarter of young people seeking mental health care are turned away by specialist services because of a lack of resources. Waiting times for treatment in many areas are long.

Dion Webster, manager of the Oxford Wellbeing Centre, added: “Priory’s Wellbeing Centres have proven incredibly popular and valuable. In London, assessments of new patients more than doubled between 2015-6, increasing by 106%, and we are pleased to be able to provide an accessible and much needed resource for those who need us.

This opening of the Oxford Wellbeing Centre is the latest in a series of Wellbeing Centres launched by the Priory Group, in Birmingham, Southampton, Canterbury, Norwich, Aberdeen, Edinburgh Greater Manchester and the City of London.

About Priory Group

The Priory Group is the leading provider of behavioural and mental healthcare in the UK. It treats around 20,000 patients a year at its facilities, for a range of conditions including depression, stress, drug, alcohol and gambling addictions, eating disorders, self-harming and PTSD. The Group is organised into four divisions – healthcare, education and children’s services, adult care and older people’s care – and its purpose is to make a real and lasting difference for everyone it supports. Priory Education operates 26 schools attended by more than 1,000 pupils with autism, Asperger’s and complex behaviours.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jo Hudson .