Name of new specialist mental health inpatient service announced

The Kingfisher has been unveiled as the name of a new specialist mental health inpatient service for people across the south west with learning disabilities and autism.

Selected following a public vote, The Kingfisher will provide tailored mental health care and support including in and out reach models of care. Based at Blackberry Hill in Bristol, the new service is due to open next year.

Mathew Page is Chief Operating Officer at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP), which will operate the new service. He explained the reasoning for the name: “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.”

The name was selected following an extensive local consultation involving nearby residents, staff, service users and carers, involving two separate polls. Dozens of names were originally proposed for the new facility, with a short list of most popular names taken to a second public vote. The Kingfisher was selected after more than 400 votes.

Kingfisher images courtesy Andy Edwards, via Facebook

Ben Stunell is a peer mentor who has supported the project, and he 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.”

Building work on the new £20million, 10-bed facility started in May this year. And just as with the selection of the name, the project has enlisted the support of people with lived experience and their carers to influence and shape the building’s design as well. Over the past 18 months groups representing those with learning disability and autistic people have been meeting with architects to offer lived experience on things like ward layout, furniture designs, garden landscaping and sensory considerations such as acoustic and lighting.

You can follow the building’s development with our recently installed webcam.

The new facility should bring an end to long-distance hospital placements for this cohort of patients, making life better both for individuals who need hospital treatment, and for their families, friends, and carers.

The development of The Kingfisher is being supported by AWP; Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB; and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB; alongside NHS England.

Laura Ambler is Executive Director of Place at Bath and North East Somerset, BSW ICB Executive Lead for Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence, Children and Young People, and Combined Place Team. She said: “As lead commissioner on behalf of our ICB partners in the North of the Region, BSW ICB are excited for the opening of The Kingfisher, which will make a big difference to those with a learning disability and autistic people who need inpatient mental health support. We are delighted that as with the design of the new unit, the name has been selected following the input of users and carers with lived experience. The Kingfisher is being delivered in the North of our Region in Bristol, and is a part of a new regional inpatient service with a new unit in the South of our Region being delivered at The Brook in Dawlish.”

You can read more about the development of the planned new service here.

If you want to find out more about recruitment for the new service, visit the AWP careers site.