Professor Alan Simpson
PhD, PG Cert (Academic Practice), PG Cert (Research Methods), PG Diploma (Counselling), BA (Hons) (Social Psychology), RMN
Professor of Collaborative Mental Health Nursing
Tel: 020 7040 5937
Fax: 020 7040 5811
Email: A.Simpson@city.ac.uk
Research interests
Alan is Professor of Collaborative Mental Health Nursing, with a focus on partnership working in education and research with a particular interest in whether increased user involvement in mental health practice and education can enhance the lived experience of mental health service users, aid recovery and improve outcomes.
Current research projects include:
Peer Support Project: Alan is leading a pilot randomised controlled trial, designed to study whether peer support provided by service users will help patients cope better following discharge from psychiatric hospital. The two-year project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit programme and is supported by East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Protected Engagement Time (PET) study: Alan is part of a research team conducting a comparison of acute mental health inpatient wards which use Protected Engagement Time (PET) with other wards delivering standard care alone. PET is an initiative aimed at enhancing the quantity and quality of patient-staff interactions, with wards closed to visitors and staff released from office duties. The two-year project is also funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit programme.
Other research:
Previously, Alan has conducted research in acute psychiatric settings, including the 'City 128 Study of Observation and Outcomes on Acute Psychiatric Wards' and the 'Tompkins Longitudinal Acute Ward Project' with Professor Len Bowers. Prior to that, he conducted a multiple case study of community mental health teams and the co-ordination of community care for people with severe mental illness.
Educational research projects have included the evaluation of teaching nurse students harm reduction approaches to substance misuse (with Dr Peter Phillips); evaluation of an online discussion forum with service users and mental health nursing students; scoping research to identify the education and training required to improve support for mental health carers; and a study to identify the education and training needs of community mental health nurses.
SUGAR: Service User Group Advisors on Research
Alan facilitates SUGAR, a service user advisory group on research that collaborates on all of our research activities and whose members receive training to develop understanding and capacity in research.
Mental Health Nurse Academics (UK)
Alan is Vice-Chair of Mental Health Nurse Academics (UK), an organisation representing the interests of mental health nursing academics in nearly 60 higher education institutions. MHNA(UK) has played a key part in influencing recent major reviews of mental health nursing, education and research in the UK.
Joint Institute of Mental Health Nursing
Alan is a mental health nurse and a member of the Joint Institute of Mental Health Nursing with East London NHS Foundation Trust and City University London. He has worked in a range of healthcare settings and in close collaboration with social care and voluntary organisations. He was a CMHN for homeless people with mental health problems; a drug and alcohol liaison nurse; a staff nurse in mental health day hospital and acute settings and is a qualified counsellor.
Teaching interests
Alan supervises PhD and MSc students and his teaching interests include case management and the Care Programme Approach (CPA); multidisciplinary teams and team work; and service user and carer involvement in mental health practice, education and research. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Learning Development Fellow for City University's Learning Development Unit.
Publications
Book chapters
Simpson, A. & Buss, N. (2009) Tvaerfagligt teamwork i psykiatrien (Teamwork in psychiatry). In Buus, N (Ed) Psykiatrisk sugepleje. Denmark: NYT Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck. pp 64-77.
Simpson, A. (2008) Acute inpatient care. In Brooker, C. & Repper, J. (Eds) Implementing the National Service Framework for Mental Health: Principles, Practice and Research. London: Elsevier. pp 151-163.
Simpson, A. & Brennan, G. (2009) Working in partnership. In Callaghan, P., Playle, P. & Cooper, L. (eds) Mental Health Nursing Skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp74-84.
Simpson, A. (2006) The effective community mental health team. In Callaghan, P. and Waldock, H. (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Mental Health Nursing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp316-317.
Simpson, A. (2006) Dual diagnosis: Shared care and interprofessional practice. In Rassool, H (ed). Dual Diagnosis Nursing. London: Blackwell. pp130-139.
Peer reviewed publications
Bowers, L; Nijman, H; Simpson, A. & Jones, J. (2011) The relationship between leadership, teamworking, structure, burnout and attitude to patients on acute psychiatric wards. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46(2),143-148.
Nijman, H., Bowers, L., Haglund, K., Muir-Cochrane, E., Simpson A., van der Merwe, M., Haglund, K.. (2011) Door locking and exit security measures on acute psychiatric admission wards. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2011.01716.x
Simpson, A. Bowers, L.., Allan, T., Haglund, K., Muir-Cochrane, E., Nijman, H. & van der Merwe, M. (2011) The relationship between substance use and exit security on psychiatric wards. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 67(3), 519-530. doi:10.111/j.1365-2648.2010.05499.x
Bowers, L., Haglund, K., Muir-Cochrane, E., Nijman, H., Simpson, A. and Van der Merwe, M. (2010) Locked doors: a survey of patients, staff and visitors. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 17, 10, 873-880.DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2010.01614.x.
Stewart, D., Van der Merwe, M., Bowers, L., Simpson, A. & Jones, J. (2010) A review of interventions to reduce mechanical restraint and seclusion among adult psychiatric inpatients. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31, 413-424.
Jones, J., Nolan., Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Whittington, R., Hackney, D. & Bhui, K. (2010) Psychiatric wards: places of safety? Journal of Psychiatric and mental Health Nursing, 17: 124-130.
Stewart, D., Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Ryan, C. & Tziggili, M. (2009) Manual restraint of adult psychiatric inpatients: a literature review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 16(8), 749-757.
Whittington, R., Bowers, L., Nolan, P., Simpson, A. & Neil, L. (2009) Approval ratings of inpatient coercive interventions in a national sample of mental health service users and staff in England. Psychiatric Services, 60 (6), 1-7.
Bowers, L., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Jones, J., Van Der Merwe, M. and Jeffery, D. (2009) Identifying Key Factors Associated with Aggression on Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Wards. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 30 (4), 260 - 271.
Van der Merwe, M., Bowers, L., Jones, J., Simpson, A. & Haglund, K. (2009) Locked doors in acute inpatient psychiatry: a literature review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 16, 293-299.
Bowers, L., Allan, T., Simpson, A. Jones, J. & Whittington, R. (2009) Morale is high in acute inpatient psychiatry. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44(1), 39-46.
Jarrett, M., Bowers, L. & Simpson, A. (2008) Coerced medication in psychiatric inpatient care: literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 64(6), 538-548.
Bowers, L., Jones, J. & Simpson, A. (2008) The demography of nurses and patients on acute psychiatric wards in England. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 884-892. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02362.x
Bowers, L., Whittington, R., Nolan, P., Parkin, D., Curtis, S., Bhui, K., Hackney, D., Allan, T. & Simpson, A. (2008) Relationship between service ecology, special observation and self-harm during acute in-patient care: City-128 study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 193, 395-401.
Bowers, L., Jeffery, D., Bilgin, H., Jarrett, M., Simpson, A. and Jones, J. (2008) Psychiatric intensive care units: a literature review. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 54(1) 56-68.
Bailey, S. & Simpson, A. (2008) Attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in child and adolescent mental health services teams. Mental Health Practice, 11(10), 26-31.
Bowers, L. Simpson, A. Nijman, H. & Hall, C. (2008) Patient ethnicity and three psychiatric intensive care units compared: the Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 15, 195-202.
Simpson, A., Reynolds, L., Light, I. & Attenborough, J. (2007) Talking with the Experts: Evaluation of an online discussion forum with mental health service users and student nurses. Nurse Education Today. 28(5), 633-640.
Simpson, A. (2007) The impact of team processes on psychiatric case management. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 60(4), 409-418. 2007.
Godin, P., Davies, J., Heyman, B., Reynolds, L., Simpson, A. & Floyd, M. (2007) Opening communicative space: A Habermasian understanding of a user led participatory research project. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 18(4), 452-469.
Fitch, C., Simpson, A., Collard, S. & Teasdale, M. (2007) Mental Health and Debt: Challenges for knowledge, practice and identity. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 14, 128-133. See also: http://www.mhdebt.info/finaldemand.pdf (pdf)
Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Simpson, A., Ryan, C. and Carr-Walker, P. (2007) Student psychiatric nurses' approval of containment measures: relationship to perception of aggression and attitudes to personality disorder. International Journal of Nursing Studies 44(3), 349-356.
Bowers, L., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Nijman, H. & Warren, H. (2007) Adverse incidents, patient flow and nursing variables on acute psychiatric wards: the Tompkins Acute Ward study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 53(1), 75-84.
Bowers, L. Jeffery, D., Simpson, A., Daly, C. & Warren, J. (2007) Junior staffing changes and the temporal ecology of adverse incidents in acute psychiatry: the Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 57(2), 153-160.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Eyres, E., Nijman, H., Hall, C., Grange, A. & Phillips, L. (2006) Serious untoward incidents and their aftermath in acute inpatient psychiatry: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 15(4), 226-234.
Bowers, L., Nijman, H., Allen, T., Simpson, A., Warren, J. & Turner, L. (2006) Prevention and management of aggression training and officially reported violent incidents: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Psychiatric Services, 57(7), 1022-1026.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., Alexander, J. Hackney, D., Nijman, H., Grange, A. & Warren, J. (2005) The Nature and Purpose of Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. Journal of Mental Health, 14(6), 625-635.
Simpson, A., Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Ridley, C. & Warren, J. (2005) Occupational Therapy and Multidisciplinary Working on Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(12), 545-552.
Simpson, A. (2005) Community psychiatric nurses and the care co-ordinator role: squeezed to provide 'limited nursing'. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52(6), 689-699.
Bowers, L., Simpson, A., & Alexander, J. Real world application of an intervention to reduce absconding. (2005) Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 12(5), 598-602.
Bowers, L., Douzenis, A., Galeazzi, G.M., Forghieri, M., Tsopelas, C., Simpson, A. & Allan, T. (2005) Disruptive and dangerous behaviour by patients on acute psychiatric wards in three European centres. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 40(10), 822-828.
Bowers, L., Alexander, J., Simpson, A., Ryan, C. & Carr-Walker, P. (2004) Cultures of psychiatry and the professional socialization process: the case of containment methods for disturbed patients. Nurse Education Today, 24, 435-442.
Simpson, A., Miller, C. & Bowers, L. (2003) Case management models and the care programme approach: how to make the CPA effective and credible. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 10(4), 472-483.
Simpson, A. Miller, C. & Bowers, L. (2003) The History of the Care Programme Approach in England: Where did it go wrong? Journal of Mental Health, 12(5), 489-504.
Bowers, L. Simpson, A. & Alexander, J. (2003) Patient-staff conflict: results of a survey on acute psychiatric wards. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38(7), 402-408.
Allen, C., & Simpson, A. (2000) Peers and partners: working together to strengthen preceptorship in mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 7(6), 505-514. 2000.
Simpson, A. (2000) Private care's win-win. Mental Health Nursing, 20(8), 6-9.
Simpson, A. (1999) Focus on training. Nursing Times, 95(47), 67-68.
Simpson, A. (1999) Creating Alliances: the views of users and carers on the education and training needs of community mental health nurses. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 6(5), 347-356.
Reports
Simpson, A. & Janner, M. (2010) Star Wards Survey Report 2009/2010. London, Bright. (63 pages) http://starwards.org.uk/images/stories/user_files/marion/Star_Wards_Survey_Report__Final_05052010_1.pdf
Essen, C., Anderson, J., Clark, M., Cook, J., Edwards, L., Fox, L., Light, I., MacMahon, A., Malihi-Shoja, L., Patel, R., Samociuk, S., Simpson, A., Tang, L., Westerby, N. (2009) Involving Service Users and Carers in Education: The Development Worker Role: Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions. Lancaster, Mental Health in Higher Education.
http://www.actiononaccess.org/resources/files/resources__Involving_Service_Users_and_Carers_in_Education.pdf
Simpson, A. & Benn, L. (2007) Scoping exercise to inform the development of a National Mental Health Carer Support Curriculum. London: City University/Together: Working for Wellbeing. http://www.citypsych.com/docs/Carersfinal.pdf
Bowers, L., Hackney, D., Nijman, H., Grange, A., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Hall, C. & Eyres, S. (2007) A Longitudinal Study of Conflict and Containment on Acute Psychiatric Wards: Report to the DH Policy Research Programme. London, City University. http://www.citypsych.com/docs/TAWSreport.pdf
Bowers, L., Whittington, R., Nolan, P., Parkin, D., Curtis, S., Bhui, K., Hackney, D., Allan, A., Simpson, A., & Flood, C. (2006) The City 128 Study of Observation and Outcomes on Acute Psychiatric Wards: Report to the NHS SDO Programme. London, City University. http://www.sdo.lshtm.ac.uk/files/project/61-final-report.pdf
Godin, P. et al (2006) Engaging service users in the evaluation and development of forensic mental health care services. London: City University/ National Forensic Mental Health R&D Programme.
Simpson, A. & Sharples, N. (2004) Mental Health Nurse Academics (UK) Position Paper 2: Mental Health Nursing and Research. London: MHNAUK.
Simpson, A. (1998). Creating Alliances: the development of the community mental health nurse in supporting people with severe and enduring mental health problems in the community. Eastbourne: Sussex Education Consortium.