20 Oct 2025 Getting to Know...

Lisa’s The Kirkwood Staff Story

For more than a decade, physiotherapist Lisa Wright has been a familiar face with The Kirkwood.

Bringing with her a wealth of experience from hospitals across West Yorkshire, Lisa has dedicated her career to helping people live well with advanced illnesses and to making sure patients and families receive care that is truly centred around their needs.

From her early days supporting breathing sessions on a casual basis, to leading innovative projects and helping to shape how care is delivered in the community, Lisa has seen The Kirkwood transform and grow. In her own words, she reflects on her journey, the changes she has witnessed, and why she remains so passionate about the work she does.

Lisa commented: “I started working with The Kirkwood probably unofficially in 2012, I was doing a little bit of bank work and dropping in and helping, supporting the Breathe Better sessions that we used to run here. And then in 2014 I applied for the permanent physio role that came up here and was successful in that.

“I’ve worked as a physio for 32 years now and I’ve been on a bit of a tour around all the hospitals in the area Dewsbury, Bradford, Huddersfield, Calderdale. My background is respiratory care and oncology having worked on the oncology unit for 10 years in Huddersfield, specialising in breast cancer care and was the lead clinician there.

“We discharged our patients from the acute ward to the hospice, and I wanted to continue that care moving from an acute setting into a more personal one. Somewhere you can look at patient centred care instead of just looking at the next patient in the next bed and getting through a long list of patients each day

“It’s all about what the patient’s goals are, what they want to achieve, and providing holistic care to support these goals. Moving to The Kirkwood was like moving into a different world, because the concept of the Multidisciplinary team is more than a concept. Everybody’s equal, whether you’re a volunteer or a therapist. You feel valued in the team, and it transforms how you care for a patient.

“I wanted to be a physio from the age of 13. I remember at school career interviews saying, ‘I think I want to be a physiotherapist,’ and being told, ‘Oh, that’s really hard to get into, you can’t do that, try something else.’ But I persevered and worked hard to achieve my goal.

“From early on in my career I always wanted to work in palliative care and being able to work with The Kirkwood in Kirklees, where I live, is just brilliant, I can give my skills back to the people in my area." 

“When I first came to The Kirkwood I was ‘the physio. ‘But since then, I’ve added so many different branches to my role, moving and handling lead, respiratory care, tracheostomy and suction support, team leader. Working in a small organisation gives you the flexibility to try new things and take on additional roles. Just because I’m a physio doesn’t mean I can’t use my skills in other areas of care to support patient care.

“I am now involved in Community work through the KICKS team. Instead of working in separate professional bubbles we’re now working very much as a team, therapists, social workers counselors, doctors and nurses, to see people jointly and use all our skill sets. That’s shaping personalised care around the patient.

“One project I’m particularly proud of was around 2016–18, funded by St James’s Place. I led a project about enabling patients in the In-Patient unit. We wanted to move away from wrapping people in cotton wool as we can sometimes disable people by doing too much for them and thinking we know best. The project was about enabling patients to achieve their own goals, even if we thought it was a bit risky. Rehabilitation in a hospice looks different: it might be getting out of bed and using the toilet or sharing time with their family sitting in a comfortable chair. It's not training for a marathon, but it’s just as important to the individual.

“COVID-19 changed lots of things and I used to struggle with change, but the pandemic blew that out of the water. I was PPE lead, fit testing people, ensuring we had supplies. It meant redefining roles completely. And I surprised myself. I wasn't very IT savvy before, but now I’m part of the new hospice AI group because I love what we can do with technology to reach more patients.

“I absolutely love working here. Here you’re given the flexibility and freedom to do what the patients need, rather than what you ‘have to do’ just to get through a waiting list.

“Events like the Memory Walk are really special. You see families we’ve cared for, and it’s amazing. Some patients really touch you and certain patients stay with you forever. This hospice is invaluable. What we do adds so much value to people’s lives at the most difficult time, for both patients and families.

After more than a decade, Lisa’s commitment to The Kirkwood shines through. “It’s invaluable,” she says simply. “And I feel really passionate about it.”

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