A hospital in Bromley has announced it is shutting down one of its units after a damning 'inadequate' report from the national health watchdog.

The Keston Unit in the Priory Hospital Hayes Grove is an adult site for patients with autism and learning disabilities, but the unit will now close at the end of the year.

A Priory Group spokesperson said they had concluded that the "environment would not support the delivery of high quality care going forward," and that the "safety of those in our care will always be our primary concern."

This follows a report from the Care Quality Commission, released on Tuesday (November 17), which found the unit to be 'inadequate'.

The rest of the hospital will remain open, and remains rated as 'good' overall, but serious concerns for patients were found during the visit, leading to the closure.

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After visiting, inspectors ordered the hospital to conduct an urgent review of the sexual safety of patients in the unit, with sexual safety risks found to not be adequately identified or managed.

The service also did not afford patients dignity or privacy because CCTV cameras had been activated in patient bedrooms without the consent of patients.

Another major concern was the failings in preventing the spread of the Covid-19 virus "because staff did not wear face coverings correctly."

The CQC's head of hospital inspection, London, Helen Rawlings, said they had taken immediate enforcement action in response to several serious concerns, and had placed to service into special measures.

In response, a spokesperson for the hospital said: "Despite sustained improvements in many areas since the inspection, we have decided to close Keston Unit at the end of the year.

"We took this decision after conducting an additional internal inspection, which concluded that the physical environment would not support the delivery of high quality care going forward.

“We are supporting each individual in our care with their transition to a new service, and the hospital remains rated ‘good’ overall.

"We have a comprehensive Covid-19 policy in place, with regular checks to ensure it is fully implemented. The safety of those in our care will always be our primary concern."