By Angus Crawford and Tony Smith
BBC News
Two former senior managers at a large mental health care provider have told the BBC they had concerns about the safety of patients and staff.
The whistleblowers claim they felt pressure to cut costs and fill beds.
The Priory Group, which receives more than 600m of public money each year, is the biggest single private provider of mental health services to the NHS.
The company denies the claims and says it successfully treats tens of thousands of patients each year.
It adds its services "remain amongst the safest in the UK".
The former members of the Priory Group's senior management said that, when they were working for the company, they found it difficult to recruit or retain staff, due to poor pay and conditions.
They believe this resulted in patients being placed on wards that did not have staff equipped with the right skills to handle their conditions.
Since January, BBC News has been contacted by ex-patients, parents and former staff with experience of the Priory Group.
They came forward after we reported that three young women had died within eight weeks of each other in 2022 at the Cheadle Royal in Stockport - the largest of the company's 63 hospitals.
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