A PRIVATE hospital has been fined £300,000 after being found guilty of breeching health and safety legislation in a landmark prosecution following the death of a teenage girl in their care.

NHS-funded patient Amy El-Keria was 14 when she was found hanged in her psychiatric ward room at the Priory in Ticehurst, East Sussex in 2012.

In 2016 an inquest found her death may have been prevented if she had received proper care.

The company was convicted yesterday at Lewes crown court under the Health and Safety Act in what campaigners believe is the first prosecution of its kind.

Amy’s mother Tania El-Keria called it a “historic day” in her fight for justice. 

“The public’s eyes have finally been opened to what the Priory really stands for. Profit over safety,” she said.

Her mother added: “This whole painful process has been marked by the Priory’s long and bitter failure to show any level of remorse or acceptance of responsibility.

“To me the Priory is a morally bankrupt company. It continues to take large sums of public money, allowing our children to suffer by placing profit over safety.”

Victoria McNally, senior caseworker at charity Inquest which has supported the family since 2012, said: “The marketisation of our mental health system enables the Priory to put profit over the safety of children in its care. 

“The lack of any independent system of investigation, allowing the Priory to investigate its own actions, has meant it took six and a half years for its criminally unsafe practises to be exposed.”

Trevor Torrington, head of the Priory Group, said: “We remain absolutely focused on patient safety and will continue to work closely with commissioners and regulators to learn lessons from incidents and inspections quickly and ensure all concerns are addressed in a timely and robust way.”