Kirsty is a Registered Nurse with 20 years of experience gained from both clinical and managerial settings in the UK and Australia. Kirsty has a breadth of specialist skills and knowledge gained from rehabilitation and care settings, including in-depth assessment, treatment and care planning, assembling and working with multidisciplinary teams, training and supervision. She has utilised and shared her expertise with colleagues in Clinical Educator roles and as a Senior Clinical Lead. Kirsty has focused her clinical skills within the field of brain injury and has managed large complex clinical, care and managerial teams to provide comprehensive bespoke rehabilitation programmes. As a Case Manager, Kirsty manages adults and children who have sustained a wide range of catastrophic injuries, including brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation and complex physical and psychological trauma.

After graduating from the University of Surrey in 2003, Kirsty started her career in a nursing home, before moving to a private surgical hospital and an NHS endoscopy unit. In 2006, Kirsty moved to Perth, Australia, and continued her nursing career, gaining assessment experience in Occupational Health, Aboriginal Health, and Rehabilitation. It was in Australia that Kirsty completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Health, to supplement her Adult Nursing registration, and later to complete a Master’s of Nursing degree.

Working as a Rehabilitation Nurse across two wards, Kirsty gained insight into rehabilitation from injury and illness. One ward was for older adults’ rehabilitation, aged over 65 years; this was for those who were recovering from falls, or acquired brain injuries from strokes, or awaiting nursing home placements for those with Korsakoff’s and varying dementias. The second rehabilitation ward was for adults under 65 years and who had been involved in traumatic injuries or major surgery rehabilitation, such as spinal cord injury/surgery and amputation. After a period of time, Kirsty was successfully promoted to become the Clinical Educator for both of these rehabilitation wards, which included developing and delivering both nursing and rehabilitation-focused education. Sessions ranged from training for junior nurses, or nurses new to rehabilitation, on the ‘Principles of Rehabilitation’, setting and achieving SMART goals as well as how to work in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Falls, documentation and handovers were other regular topics on the education calendar that Kirsty facilitated.

Kirsty returned to the UK in 2018 and continued her work as a Clinical Educator for a large care home organisation. As this was a new team, a large part of Kirsty’s work was to develop, and later implement, evidence-based training packages for the team to deliver nationwide. These training sessions needed to be linked to company policy, as well as the most up-to-date Clinical Guidelines, across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Kirsty transitioned to a Clinical Lead position in complex care with a community provider. This role supported mostly children and adults in the community who needed help to manage their complex care needs, while maintaining their lives in their own homes. Kirsty developed and managed paediatric care packages for a palliative baby, multiple children and teenagers with ASD, PMLD and severe Autism. Kirsty also worked with care packages for complex adults for those who had suffered spinal cord and brain injuries who required 24-hour nursing and/or carer support. Within this role, Kirsty completed thorough initial individual assessments, risk assessments and bespoke care plans. Individual care plan training was developed and delivered for staff on the package, all with the patient, and where relevant and appropriate, family involvement, so they remained at the centre of their own care. This role developed into a Senior Clinical Lead position managing and supervising a team of Clinical Leads and supporting with Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements, as the business grew exponentially throughout the pandemic.

More recently, Kirsty has been in regional Operations positions, managing Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care homes for those with a mental health and/or neurological condition, and most recently brain injury rehabilitation for those between 18 – 65 years. Kirsty’s role was to oversee the management of the homes and the individuals cared for, ensuring client-centred care for all, in a safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led manner.

Kirsty managed a large therapy team across multiple sites and pushed for the team to develop and grow on an individual basis, as well as helping to develop the service and deliver high standards of evidence-based care to the clients.

These recent roles in social care have required Kirsty to lead teams through difficult times. She has had to remain calm and focused in an often fast-paced environment, whilst juggling many different pieces of work. Over the years, Kirsty has learnt to communicate with many people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and easily builds rapport and trust with her clients and colleagues alike. Throughout Kirsty’s nursing career she has remained passionate about always delivering high-quality compassionate care to all.

At the end of 2022, Kirsty completed a Master’s in Nursing, which focused on Clinical Nursing Administration; topics covered were clinical education, clinical governance, research, health leadership, risk management and health economics.

Kirsty is registered with the Institute of Registered Case Managers (IRCM) and is a member of The British Association of Brain Injury and Complex Case Management (BABICM), Nursing & Midwifery Council and the Royal College of Nursing.