Associate Professor Fran Biley - Bournemouth University

It is with great sadness that this week I learned of the passing of Fran Biley. In 2003 I contacted Fran having heard he had worked up in Lancashire in the early 80s as a charge nurse on a then new elderly mentally ill unit. I could not resist the possibility that here was someone who perhaps knew of Hodges' model or had used it.

There were no major leads, but Fran always encouraged me in my preoccupation with Hodges' model. I did not have a sense that I was just being indulged, or that Fran was purely exercising good manners which I'm sure he had in abundance. Fran also provided support indirectly and so I will miss both his positive words and observations.

There may be some communications on the old PC to recover, as I've enjoyed following Fran's contributions over the years. The brilliant video on students and nursing theory which I posted here on W2tQ in 2010 and Fran's missives to various lists over the years, including:

From: Francis Biley at BOURNEMOUTH.AC.UK;
To: PSYCHIATRIC-NURSING at JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2007 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [PSYCHIATRIC-NURSING] Evidence

Didn't Liam mention nursing in the original post somewhere? What about Peplau, Orlando, and Travelbee and perhaps a host of others who produced buckets full of evidence of whatever flavour you'd like to choose; and Barker as well of course, not added here as an afterthought, more as emphasis.

And as for contemporary, Orlando's book was published in ?61, and Travelbee died in 73 (I think??)....and we all (should) know Peplau's history (perhaps...)...and FNs Notes on Nursing is still on and off my book shelf like a yoyo.

Or is it that we've been influenced by psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists and etc to such an extent that these people (and nursing per se) have clearly disappeared from the horizon, or where never there in the first place?

I will keep going Fran! Many thanks.