The Kingfisher Bulletin - November 2024

Name chosen after public vote

The Kingfisher was recently unveiled as the name of the new specialist mental health facility and outreach service at Blackberry Hill. Chosen because of its distinctiveness, the name was selected following an extensive consultation involving residents, staff, service users and carers, with more than 400 votes cast.

Mathew Page, Chief Operating Officer at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP), said: “The kingfisher is a very distinctive bird that represents hope, healing, and vibrancy, and can often be spotted flying along the nearby River Frome. The image and symbolism of this unique creature aligns with our vision for a service which is creative, connected to the environment and which promotes independence. We want to thank all those service users, carers, staff and anyone who took the time to propose a name and to vote.”

Ben Stunell, a peer mentor who has been involved in the consultation group, said: “Choosing a name which feels accessible for all and connected to the local environment, representing something beautiful and meaningful, has been very important for those of us with lived experience in helping to decide what the new building will be called. We hope that The Kingfisher will be a place of hope, healing and recovery for many over the coming years.”

Read more about the naming here.

Hospital Rooms

Starting in 2025, arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms will create 11 new artworks for The Kingfisher. Artists will work with service users, staff and the wider community through 40 creative workshops to come up with their ideas.

Renowned for their mission to bring creativity, colour, and kindness to mental health hospitals, the charity will work in close collaboration with service users, alongside a diverse group of artists to create a new kind of mental health environment that is sensitive to the people it will care for. We would love you to be involved. Email louis@hospital-rooms.com to find out more.

Follow the development online

You can now follow the progress of the facilities, by logging on to our webcam.

Construction of new mental health facility now underway

The construction of a new 10 bed specialist inpatient facility on the Blackberry Hill site was approved by NHSE in 2023. It is part of an exciting and ambitious regional programme that will deliver measurable benefits for those adults with a learning disability and autistic people who cannot access mainstream mental health services (with reasonable adjustments) and require care outside the Southwest Region due to lack of specialist facilities.

The building is designed in a way to offer a therapeutic environment and meet the sensory needs of autistic people and people with a learning disability. This is one of two facilities in development within the south west, with the other in Devon.

This regional approach will provide care closer to home to enable people stay connected to family, friends and places that are familiar. The inpatient service will contribute to improved wellbeing, delivering a highly specialised offer within an environment specially designed to meet a range of sensory needs. This aim will provide safe spaces for holistic treatment, care, and recovery from mental illness.

The regional programme does not just relate to the inpatient services, the ICB focus will be on moving people through the care journey into their communities and only providing specialised environments when absolutely necessary and appropriate, in line with the finalised regional service specification and referral and admission criteria (currently in development).

The regional programme will continue the work across systems to strengthen community support to people with improved prevention, crisis response and alternatives to admission. By successfully delivering this, it is our belief that fewer people will have needs ‘that can only be met in hospital’ and will have improved care, treatment, and quality of life.

Picture above: Architects impressions of what the finished facilities will look like. Top – the courtyard; middle – a bedroom; bottom – a communal space.

Commissioning arrangements

The Lead Commissioner for The Kingfisher is Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon & Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire also commissioning a bed. This is part of a regional offer with the partner unit ‘The Brook’ being based on Devon and being commissioned by NHS Devon ICB.

Karen King, Head of Learning Disabilities, Autism & Neurodivergence and Reuben Collings, Clinical Lead for Learning Disabilities, Autism & Neurodivergence at Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care Board are working with NHS Devon to develop single point of access arrangements and are developing service specifications and contractual monitoring processes to ensure the service is a positive and appropriate experience for patients, families, carers and staff.

Interested in joining our team?

Come and be part of a dynamic, versatile team and join our team. If you’ve a passion for making a difference to our Learning Disability and Autism services, we offer rewarding opportunities for you to be part of our dynamic teams as we transform the learning disabilities and autism pathway. Whether you are an experienced specialist or just starting your career in health or mental health, we have a role for you. We will be actively recruiting for a range of roles: Nursing, Allied Health Professions, Medical, Pharmacy, Administrative services, and Support services.

We are now recruiting for The Kingfisher. Click here to discover our latest opportunities.