Joe Hughes

Joe Hughes first came to England from his native Ireland in 1960 to train for the Catholic priesthood with the Divine Word Missionaries in Worcester. Several years later, and with the Biblical words ringing in his ears, 'Many are called but few are chosen', he returned home to Ireland unchosen! Later he trekked back to England to train as a Registered Mental Nurse (RMN) at St Francis Psychiatric Hospital at Haywards Heath in West Sussex during the late 1960s. From there he completed his State...See more

Joe Hughes first came to England from his native Ireland in 1960 to train for the Catholic priesthood with the Divine Word Missionaries in Worcester. Several years later, and with the Biblical words ringing in his ears, 'Many are called but few are chosen', he returned home to Ireland unchosen! Later he trekked back to England to train as a Registered Mental Nurse (RMN) at St Francis Psychiatric Hospital at Haywards Heath in West Sussex during the late 1960s. From there he completed his State Registered Nurse (SRN) training at the Whittington Hospital in North London. Drawn back to psychiatric nursing he went on to study for the Diploma in Nursing and also undertook management training and studied for a part time teacher's certificate whilst running a clinical unit as a senior clinical charge nurse. Having worked in all of the hospital based psychiatric clinical specialities he thrived in acute psychiatry where his true interests lay but ever eager for further challenges he became branch secretary of his local trade union in which he also served at district and regional level. He retired early from the NHS, following a thirty year career, having undertaken fresh training as a chiropodist and now runs a successful part time practice in addition to his writing and speaking activities. Joe lives in Sussex with his family and makes frequent visits back to his native Ireland. See less