Joe Hughes first came to England from his native Ireland in 1960 to train for the Catholic priesthood with the Divine Word Missionaries. Several years later, and with the Biblical words still 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 clinical specialties he thrived in acute psychiatry where his true interests lay but ever eager for further challenges he became branch secretary of his local union where he also served at district and regional level.

He retired early from the NHS, following a thirty year career, having undetaken fresh study as a podiatrist and ran a successful visiting practice for over twenty years in addition to his writing and speaking activities.

 A well researched history and personal memoir of the hospital, Joe's time there and where he visits his thirty year nursing and trade union careers which were, at times, often controversial but also humourous and always enjoyable. This is a local history with a difference and not only for all readers of the history of Haywards Heath but also for those with an interest in the development of major events in psychiatry internationally and how these relate to the development of local services and treatments. The book is available from Amazon.