Boyle 'could remain in Priory for weeks'

Britain's Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle could need to remain in the Priory clinic for weeks, doctors have said.

The 48-year-old singer checked into the north London facility at the weekend, after feeling physically and mentally exhausted following the live final.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the clinic's chief medical officer Chris Thompson insisted that the Priory was "not a rest home and not a spa. It is a psychiatric hospital".

"I cannot talk specifically about Susan Boyle but any admission to a psychiatric hospital for a matter of days is, in my opinion, a failed admission because either it was unnecessary in the first place or the job hasn’t been done fully.”

He went on to say that if Boyle had been assessed under the Mental Health Act, as previously speculated, it implied "compulsory admission".

"It implies there was a degree of personal risk," he explained. "Secondarily that implies she did not want to come into hospital voluntarily."

Earlier today, Boyle's older brother said that the family were hoping she would be leaving the clinic within the next few days, adding that she was feeling "a lot better" since her admission.

> Boyle 'invited to perform for Obama'