Spotlight: The Kingfisher
As part of our programme, we became aware of an ongoing project involving a new mental health facility tailored to supporting the inpatient and outreach needs of individuals with learning disabilities and autism. This site, named ‘The Kingfisher’ by public vote, is located in Bristol, as part of the NHS Avon and Wiltshire Trust.
Having discussed the project, we arranged a call with Dr Alan Kellas, a retired psychiatrist, who lectured at the University of Bristol, and is a former member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ sustainability committee. We were lucky enough to discuss our course, interests, and medical humanities within the context of the aims and pursuits of ‘The Kingfisher’ centre. This sparked discussion surrounding safeguarding as implemented across mental health facilities through architecture, and finding creative ways to work within and around the necessary parameters.
At every stage of design and construction, the team involved have put special emphasis on the role of architecture and art in wellbeing, whilst consulting with disability and autism advocacy groups to ensure the space is as accommodating an environment as possible. At the heart of such considerations, attention has been paid to the sensory dimensions of patient experience such as, for examples, acoustics and lighting.
The vital importance of such spaces cannot be overlooked in light of the often overstimulating, inaccessible environment across non-specialist facilities creating a lack of available resources for these patients. This is particularly difficult where patients and their carers and families are faced with choosing between admission to an unsuitable unit or being relocated to a far away, specialist service, at the cost of both familiarity and proximity of support networks.
Whilst our exhibit today is primarily focused on a medical humanities approach to the topic of women and medicine through history, there are synergies with the themes explored here and the aims and approaches of ‘The Kingfisher’ project. A key aspect of understanding any minoritised or marginalised group is an appreciation of intersectionality and striving for unity between advocacy groups and movements. With regards to our exhibition and the focus on women, it is important to appreciate the unique difficulties faced by women with learning disabilities and women with autism. The latter of these two groups has grown considerably in recent years, with awareness and understanding improving on the potential gendered differences in presentation which have previously complicated diagnosis and access to care. Forming these links is fundamental to any effort to champion the voices, experiences, and needs of these individuals and both clinicians and the general public share responsibility for engendering a society that provides the much-needed cross-institutional support.