A mental health hospital has been told to make improvements or risk closing by a healthcare watchdog.
A surprise inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at the Priory Hospital Arnold in Nottinghamshire in January revealed "totally unacceptable" care standards.
It claimed that since the previous inspection in August, there had not been "sufficient improvement to the safety of patients.".
The hospital is still under special restrictions.
The most recent inspection was brought on by two incidents: the passing away of a patient in December who had left the hospital and the injury of a patient on the hospital's roof in January.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service found that although the hospital needed 32 nurses, 17 positions, or 53% of them, remained unfilled.
48 positions, or exactly half of the 96 needed, remained unfilled.
The hospital has since hired people for 33 positions, according to a spokesperson.
Bentwood and Newstead, the hospital's two acute mental health wards, were visited by CQC inspectors.
According to their report, the provider continued to violate regulations regarding staff training, restrictive practices, inefficient information systems, and managing items that could endanger people despite this most recent inspection. ".
It claimed that because the hospital had not received a new rating, it continued to be deficient in terms of overall quality as well as in the "safe" and "well-led" categories.
The hospital's rating for the "effective," "caring," and "responsive" categories remained "requires improvement" because they were not included.
The report also stated that "if insufficient improvements are made, CQC will not hesitate to take further action, which may include closing the service.".
The report, which was released on June 23, claimed that employees were unaware of the missing persons policy.
Insufficient experienced staff and a lack of gender-specific staff prevented the hospital from adequately managing the risks and care requirements of female patients.
The staff lacked the necessary training, according to inspectors, to provide safe patient care.
Although it was noted in the report that people had one-on-one sessions with a nurse and that leaders were "visible and approachable.".
The Priory Hospital Arnold's level of care is wholly unacceptable, according to Greg Rielly, the CQC's deputy director of operations in the Midlands. For people to receive the safe care and treatment they deserve, the leaders of this service must address the issues raised as soon as possible. ".
The hospital said in a statement that the report related to an ungraded inspection that took place six months ago and concentrated on just two wards.
It declared that improvements were already in motion thanks to the appointment of a new director.
The statement continued, "We are committed to implementing the required improvements and anticipate receiving a higher rating at our subsequent inspection.
