Name chosen for region’s new mental health facility

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, which is based in Bristol and scheduled to open in 2025, will provide tailored mental health care and support, and provide accommodation for up to 10 patients at any one time.

Laura Ambler, Executive Lead for Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence, Children and Young People, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, said: “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.”

Dozens of names were originally proposed for the new facility, with a short list of most popular names taken to a second public vote, with the Kingfisher being chosen after securing more than 400 votes.

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

Building work on the new £20 million facility began in May of this year, and it is hoped that when open the unit will bring an end to long-distance hospital placements for mental health 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 Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, with further support from NHS England.