19 Feb 2024 Community

The Kirkwood Spotlight - Elspeth McGloughlin

The Kirkwood over the years has developed new ways to care for people. It has developed its staff and given its workforce the opportunity to express itself and bring new ideas and schemes to the table. One of our brilliant staff members is Elspeth McGloughlin who is our Community Services Operational Manager. She is a hardworking and dedicated person who cares about the job she is doing and the difference she is making to patients' lives.

Elspeth has worked for The Kirkwood for the past ten years and has continued to develop her role to where she is now. Before she started to work for us as a charity, she took time out to volunteer for us, through that experience her love for us as an organisation grew, and then she decided to apply for a paid clinical role with The Kirkwood.

On her journey with The Kirkwood she said: “I started initially as a volunteer. When I was training to become an occupational therapist I decided the area I was passionate about was the voluntary and charity sector.

“One of the things that concerned me about occupational therapy practice in the healthcare system was that as practitioners we’re taught to work one way, but unable to be truly person centred in practice. The inability to work like this can lead to clinicians becoming frustrated and disillusioned. I believe we are lucky enough here at The Kirkwood to work in a way that many aspire to.

I was really keen to work for an organization that was small enough to allow you to develop services in response to patient need, but also then big enough to have development opportunities.

“I'd left a role working for another third sector organisation and I was really keen to do something different, I wanted to use the skills that I had developed whilst supporting a local charity.

“That's when I first approached The Kirkwood about volunteering and using my OT skills to support the work they were doing”

Elspeth believes passionately about the period of volunteering service she did with us and says it was a big part of her journey whilst with the charity.

She said: “It's an important part of the journey I’ve been on, and I remember a lot about my time as a volunteer. I would encourage anyone to come and volunteer for us as an organisation. Within six months of being a volunteer I applied for a role as an occupational therapist because of the values of the organisation and the amazing work that gets done day in day out.”

Since then, Elspeth has honed her skills, developed programs, and brought in new initiatives to make our patients both on the In-Patient Unit and in the community feel as comfortable as possible whilst they are affected with a life limiting illnesses.

On her role now, she commented: “My role now is overseeing the operational delivery of the clinical services that are non-nursing. I support the team delivering services such as social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and counselling plus much more. This means my role is really varied and interesting and I find every day fulfilling, it’s a real privilege.

“I get involved in lots of different areas of practice, but ultimately, it's all about delivering that high-quality care. I never think of the professions as individual service, ultimately, we're one big team that works together and we need that collaboration across those different professions.”

Elspeth has a clear view in that The Kirkwood is just one cog in the healthcare system and whilst we want to help as many people as possible across Kirklees, we also need to work well with other organisations in the region.

She explained: “It isn't just about The Kirkwood working in isolation across Kirklees, it's important that we do have that internal collaboration, but also externally with other partners. It's about that continuity of care in our area and doing it to the very best of our collective ability, learning from each other. It's about maintaining those standards and reducing any gaps in service provision for patients, especially in end of life care.”

Due to Elspeth working for The Kirkwood over a prolonged period, she has a keen understanding of the many parts that go into making our fantastic charity. She is aware at how important the fundraising element is to our organisation and believes that all staff should also be aware that those fundraising efforts help to keep The Kirkwood’s doors open.  

She said: “Lots of our staff have come from statutory services where they haven't needed to be involved in fundraising or even consider the fundraising element. It makes our jobs far more varied, having to get involved in those aspects and actually makes it more enjoyable.

“It's nice to go to fundraising events and meet families and see people that you might have supported through the years previously.

“It's all part of the movement that is The Kirkwood, that legacy that's left behind. We must maintain those links and maintain that community feel that makes The Kirkwood so special. We are Kirklees wide and getting involved in the fundraising and volunteering enables you to develop those links.”

Finally, Elspeth spoke about what makes her proud about working for The Kirkwood, she explained: “The best thing about The Kirkwood is that it really does feel like a family, it's bigger than a job.

“It's the longest I've worked for one organisation, I came into occupational therapy later than most and it wasn't my first career. It very quickly becomes part of you as does The Kirkwood. I think we're all really invested in The Kirkwood, I know I am. A big aspect of practice for me is about that loyalty and supporting our organisation and working as one big team.

“I've lived in Kirklees for 20 years this year and The Kirkwood has been a big part of that. It's not just a place in Dalton, and it's not just one In-Patient Unit.

“It means different things to different people, and I think there is a real proud association with people who work for us. I am proud to work for The Kirkwood and I will continue to do my best for a charity that I feel so passionate about