Dr Oliver Russell was a psychiatrist with a difference, someone whose work touched the lives of many people. Everyone he met will remember his big smile, his warm personality and his welcoming approach. His legacy lives on in the memories of all who knew him, and in their confidence to take forward his groundbreaking work for people with learning disabilities.
Born in London in 1936, Oliver attended the Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood and subsequently studied Human Physiology at St John’s College, Oxford. He undertook medical training at Middlesex Hospital, where he qualified in 1964, before moving to Bristol to train in psychiatry at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and in child psychiatry at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children between 1966 and 1971. By that time, he had already met Rosie on a visit to Iona, the wonderful woman who was to become his wife and constant companion throughout all the ventures in his life. In 1971, he won a fellowship to Harvard Medical School, where he gained experience in community mental health. Back in Bristol, Oliver became a consultant psychiatrist in the NHS, and also a Reader in Mental Health in the Medical School of the University of Bristol, until he retired in 2000.
In the 1970s, people with learning disabilities were either living at home with families caring for them or were living forgotten lives in large institutions. Oliver was key to exposing these realities, and he argued tirelessly for the rights of people to be well supported in the community. He was instrumental in the closure of Farleigh Hospital, following the report of the Committee of Inquiry in 1971. Understaffing and poor facilities meant that people’s rights were ignored, and they appeared incapable of living their own lives in the ‘outside world’. Oliver’s approach was to undertake a detailed audit of all the people living in Bristol institutions, and to map their existing and future requirements in terms of services and funding.
In 1988, Oliver co-founded the Norah Fry Research Centre with Linda Ward and Carol Robinson. The new research centre included other researchers who had previously been part of the Department of Mental Health. Early concerns of researchers at Norah Fry included community-based housing and the health and behavioural support needed by people moving out of long-stay hospitals. Always driven by real practical issues, Oliver was brilliant at connecting these to build research programmes that mattered. Throughout the 1990s, the centre ran public-facing, free seminars in community venues, where people with learning disabilities, their families and allies, and service providers could come together to hear about cutting-edge research and to tell the researchers about real-life needs. For instance, it became apparent that children with complex health needs needed more coordinated services. Many of the findings from projects at the Norah Fry Research Centre have made changes in the lives of people with learning disabilities, changes which are now ‘normal practice’. For instance, the right to have accessible information was pioneered at the centre and is now part of everyday practice in the form of ‘easy read’ summaries published with every NHS report. Oliver’s early interests in the sexual rights of women with learning disabilities later became transformed into groundbreaking research about same-sex relationships amongst people with learning disabilities, and the rights of parents with learning disabilities also became a major theme at the centre. This ongoing research has had huge impacts on services and supports.
Oliver trusted his staff to do the work, and to do it well. He was a great enabler. Each new project challenged service providers and policymakers to see the needs of people with learning disabilities in a new light. Their right to have a voice in matters which concerned them became a cornerstone of the new ‘inclusive research’ approach, where people with learning disabilities took an active role in research. Now a common and accepted feature of research proposals, various types of inclusive or co-produced research were championed by work carried out at the Norah Fry Research Centre.
When Oliver retired, he remained active and engaged. Indeed, it was at that time that he was part of the group of policymakers who pushed the government for new legislation around capacity that would help people with learning disabilities to make decisions, and to have their ‘best interests’ taken into account by others. This led to the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, which was enacted in 2007 and became the basis for a major evaluation of best practice by Norah Fry staff, working with the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities. He was also active in support of a new initiative at Norah Fry to investigate the premature deaths of people with learning disabilities, a project known as the ‘Confidential Inquiry’ which unmasked the largest inequity of all, the unequal health treatment received by this group in the NHS.
On retirement, Oliver made sure to secure a more permanent structure and a directorship for his successor. His approach was always to advocate for others, not necessarily for himself; and this approach resulted in a centre that was able to survive the many changes in University structuring and demands on its staff. With permanent contracts and an increasing involvement in teaching, the Norah Fry Research Centre has lived on. Impact on policy and practice, ensuring continual vigilance around social care and health services, and getting things changed have all continued to be major themes in the work of the centre. Oliver’s influence is still felt by people with learning disabilities, their families and their allies. Above all, the mission of Norah Fry to carry out research that makes a difference is still alive today. He is much missed.
Val Williams, Carol Robinson and Ruth Townsley