April 2026
‘Success Story’
I am a 70-year-old, retired Enrolled Nurse who was formerly a member of IFON. I was employed for 23 years at Hartwoodhill Psychiatric Hospital in Shotts- from 1989, till my retirement in 2012.
In 2005 [or thereabouts], in an appeals case which related to my own request to have my EN ‘C’ post in Ward 19, upgraded to a ‘D’, I was represented by the founder of IFON, Irenee O’Neil. Not only did we win the case- but [having subsequently carried out my own research on the subject]- it transpired that winning that case in particular- would prove to be nothing less than a landmark victory. This is by virtue of the fact that it established the ‘test-case’ precedent-[i.e.,’set the standard’] – which paved the way for the subsequent opening of the floodgates for the many thousands of other nurses [UK wide] who went on to lodge their own appeals to have their own posts upgraded.
At the time, we were both delighted that we had won the case, However, any recognition of the true significance of our success -as eventually representing a landmark victory, -appears to have been a detail which somehow seems to have passed both of us by.
That being said, the fact that many thousands of nurses UK, went on to be successful in the upgrading of their own posts, would undoubtably have enriched their lives substantially in more ways than one. For instance, we can imagine that the Christmases in those households in that particular year, would certainly have been much more comfortable than they otherwise would have been.
It is my own contention that, as the organization which represented me in the original landmark case- that IFON is more than entitled to claim legitimate ownership of this historic achievement -which ostensibly places the welfare of nurses at the forefront of your agenda.
James ‘Junior’ Carty.
