Prospect Park Hospital - Berkshire Healthcare - Reading

Charlie J.

Stayed here roughly 5 years ago. Staff (specifically psychiatrists) actively created situations designed to trigger trauma responses and then diagnosed me with a condition only relevant to the situation. Did not take into account overlap of symptoms with already established diagnoses of neurodivergence and trauma, the masking of these or previous (still ongoing due to the misdiagnosis) lack of appropriate available treatment. Also did not take into account evidence of extreme wrongdoing (illegal activity in the form of an experiment) and the wider NHS covered It up. It is extremely difficult to get reassessed and/or the condition removed from my records and has further made me lose trust in NHS services. -20/10 avoid Snowdrop Ward specifically

Sonia K.

My family member was admitted to Daisy Ward for one week and then transferred to Rose Ward for a further week. During this time, I believe the doctors and nurses involved provided inaccurate and fabricated information about my brother.

As a result, my brother was diagnosed incorrectly. I also believe that the required mental health assessment was not carried out properly or in accordance with appropriate standards. These failures had a significant impact on my brother and our family.

My brother medical needs were ignored, the staff in the hospital did not allow my family member to attend their hospital appointment while at prospect park.

His right arm was injured following an unlawful arrest but the doctors failed to to arrange someone to check his arm Injury !!

Maria D.

Our son Mark who was admitted to sorrel ward and then Daisy ward I would like to thank all the staff for the way they looked after Mark, it’s been a very scary time for him and us thank you for giving him the help he needs and showing kindness under very difficult circumstances, well done all of you David and Maria Douglas

Rupinder K.

This place still haunts me to this day although, I was sectioned back in 2015. On the night I was admitted, I was told by a staff member that it was my fault that I had ended up there and had ruined my life in doing so. I was in psychosis and this only worsened matters for me and I became hysterical.

The place itself was really unsafe and it is concerning that male staff members as well as patients were permitted to freely enter the female section of the ward. I was also pulled and dragged by two male staff members being vulnerable as I kept insisting on wanting to go home and sat myself by the ward entrance.

Some other really strange things happened to me where one staff member asked for the PIN to my debit card knowing that I had a sizeable amount of funds in my account and luckily, I did not give it even in my heavily psychotic state.

When I was discharged from Rose ward, I was still in psychosis but they still allowed me to make my own way home when anything could have happened to me.

I would advise anyone to NEVER come here.

David B.

Amazing care , really clean , food amazing
Activities to help . I got the right type of help from brilliant Gym Manager.
Thank you for you care 100%

James X.

This is a very concerning place. If you are someone who is considering staying here, or the friend or family of someone considering, I would urge you to practice caution.

Earlier this year, my friend had an adverse reaction to new medication and decided to check himself in as an informal patient for fast treatment. He has his challenges, but he's a smart, reasonable, and discerning guy who wants to be his best for those around him.

After switching back to the previous dose and appearing to make a recovery, he was asked to stay a bit longer to see if there were any additional effects. We thought this was fair, and he was allowed to leave for the day. However, as he continued to improve, he began to increasingly express his desire to leave altogether. As an informal patient, he is entitled to leave covered under the MHA of 1983 (with stipulations), but this was not made clear to him, and he was told that even if he left during the day he would have to return at certain times. He was continuously led on to believe that he would have appointments with psychiatrists, or led on with discharge appointments, only for them not to materialise.

Over time the ward became increasingly unsafe for him, he was moved room, and his sleep was consistently being disturbed by other patients, including one that entered his bathroom unannounced and continued to hassle him, many of the staff were slow to deal with these matters. Despite the fact that he had stabilised now, these matters were actually distressing him more, and although he wanted to leave, he was being told that he couldn't. He asked if he could stay at his home overnight so he could have a good night's sleep, and was told he would need a consultant's note for that, but that they couldn't give him a note because the consultants were busy, and that this would not happen over the weekend as they don't work on the weekend. When he expressed his desire to stay out later the ward managed alluded to him "not wanting to jeopardise his discharge meeting", which to me sounds like a thinly veiled threat.

The final straw came at the start of the week, over two and a half weeks on from the first time he had checked in. He again, expected an appointment, only for it to be postponed another couple days. He came home, extremely anxious about the whole situation, and we had a very candid conversation about his rights as a patient, finally taking the decision not to return. Upon researching this place, I realised that this has not been the first time this has happened, and that there are other people who have posted reviews with this same story. What further concerned me is that the meeting on Wednesday was scheduled with two psychiatrists, which is exactly what you would arrange if you considering sectioning someone, not discharging them.

Upon calling to express he would not be returning the nurse seemed shocked, he expressed that as an informal patient he was exercising his right to leave, and instead of responding with any sort of concern the nurse threatened to call the police. Not once did she ask him about this decision or how he felt, all she knew was the notion of instilling fear in an attempt to coerce a potentially vulnerable person back to the hospital. This was the first time I had heard any of these people directly, and it shocked me. Fortunately, with his peers by his side this threat did not phase him, and he asserted his rights.

There is much more I could add, but all I'll say here is that there is something afoot here; my friend's anxiety could have seriously been used against him to detain him longer had he would have been without a strong support system. The way these institutes treat mental illness is despicable, and some may dismiss the reviews here because of that stigma, but if my voice is worth anything in this conversation: believe them. This place seriously needs to change how it operates, and the fact that it has an "Outstanding" rating is only a reflection of the abject failure of this country to support and protect mentally vulnerable people.

Avoid.

Jamie A. (.

My mother died here, back in 2006 she committed suicide in a bathroom stall while staff were oblivious to her whereabouts due to neglect and poor response time. I was 16 months old at the time and barely knew her, sure she had issues but that's why you come to a place like this. It is appalling to see that after 18 years nothing has changed and that this place is still running the way it is.

I know nothing I do now will bring her back, and there's no point trying to take down a heartless organisation who's primary objective is to "help people", but it is unjust that she isn't even mentioned anywhere on the internet, let alone by this "hospital" who allowed this to happen. I've read her journals, and care notes and a lot of them are suspiciously missing, ones that I'd expect slander this "hospital" and its staff, whilst the only ones left are ones that depict outbursts of rage towards our family, leading them to believe that they were the problem, and of course my grandmother's repeated requests for them result in failure.

I want her to be remembered, to do her justice, so please, for your own sakes don't send any of your friends/family to this place, unless you want to put them through hell.

And for Prospect Park "Hospital": Just do better, that's all that I ask.

Steve B.

Trauma absolute trauma made me more suicidal and unsafe watch you go to the toilet and I told them I had separation Anxitey and they still kept me in said too me if you don’t take your meads you won’t see your mum they lied too me as well saying my mum don’t want me home when she did so I felt. Like she didn’t love me