Meet our Team
WASP is a clinically led collaborative with expertise in personalised care, service user engagement, quality improvement, co-design and research
Dr Louise Johnson
Founding Member and Programme Lead
Hello, I’m Louise, a clinical academic physiotherapist and founding member of WASP. In my clinical role, I work with people with stroke, so I know first-hand the difference a personalised approach makes. Not only is it better for people who use our services, but it’s extremely rewarding for clinicians and teams too. I lead and guide the WASP team, with a focus on strategic development, evaluation and research.
What matters to me
I love to travel – planning a trip is almost as exciting to me as the journey itself. I am quite creative and enjoy learning new skills. At the moment I’m learning pottery. Other things I love, are cooking and fresh flowers. And of course, my children!
Dr Beth Clark
Personalised Care Facilitator
Hello, I’m Beth. I’ve been an Occupational Therapist since 2002 and a WASP Facilitator since 2019. I passionately advocate working in a person-centred way because I’ve seen the difference it makes. True personalisation requires a system-wide approach, and supported by WASP, I hope that personalised care will become core business, in health and social care settings. I’ve recently completed my PhD, titled, ‘Examining the Recommendation for 45 minutes of Therapy Following Stroke.’
What matters to me
When I am not working, I love spending time at the beach with my family.
Lyndsay Court
Personalised Care Facilitator
Hello, I’m Lyndsay. Before joining the WASP team in 2022, I worked in the NHS as Lead Occupational Therapist for a children and young people’s service.
Through my work with WASP as a programme facilitator, I hope to influence quality of life improvements across a population larger than I could ever reach as a clinician.
I have a particular interest in reducing health inequalities, an enthusiasm for humanising health care and I understand the power that personalised care has to enable this.
What matters to me
My family and friends are the most important to me and I cherish the time I get to spend with my husband and daughter. I am happiest at the beach or in the sea and I would love to sail around the world.
Matthew Wood
Digital Facilitator
Hello, I’m Matthew, I’m a Senior Orthotist working in West Dorset and joined the WASP team in 2023 to help with digital development.
I have a keen interest in health literacy, and how we can best communicate complex topics to the widest range of people.
My clinical responsibilities involve designing bespoke braces, supports, and footwear for a range of service users. Personalised care is such an important part of this work, as if the solution doesn’t match the person then it won’t be used!
What matters to me
When I’m not at work, I enjoy writing and hunting for fossils on the Jurassic Coast.
Carl Adams
Founding Member and Associate Trainer
Hello, I’m Carl, a Physiotherapist working in Research and Improvement across Solent NHS Trust and a founding member of WASP. I support services to work alongside patients, people and communities when improving healthcare. I have a passion for quality improvement and co-production that has led me to put patient and people participation at the centre of service design. I deliver the WASP “measuring self-management” and “use of patient activation” modules.
What matters to me
In my spare time, I’m a keen cyclist and a junior rugby coach. I also enjoy DIY and family time. I have a passion for teamwork, learning new skills and encouraging young people to play rugby.
Steph Heath
Training Associate
Hello, I’m Steph. I’ve been a nurse for over 20 years and involved with WASP since 2017. I went into nursing because I wanted to work with people. I’ve always been fascinated about what lies beneath the surface. How do we support people’s health and wellbeing in the context of their whole life? How can we work differently to really see people and respond to their needs? I’ve developed my interest in supported self-management and have experience of using, training and mentoring teams to support use of the Patient Activation Measure. I have foundation level Health Coaching training and am currently working in a non-clinical role supporting projects focused on personalised care for people with cancer.
What matters to me
Outside of work, I love travel, walking, cooking, interior design, and anything creative.
Kathy Beaven
Training Associate
Hello, I’m Kathy a paediatric dietician. I joined the WASP team in 2021, on a part time secondment. I qualified in 1993 and worked in several areas of dietetics, before specialising in children who have feeding tubes – a role I have been in for over 22 years. I’ve always been interested in working together with patients and their families or carers to provide a truly personalised approach. Knowing what matters to the person is so vital in being able to support them.
Working with WASP means I have a deep understanding of how personalised care can support the NHS become more sustainable. I actively promote personalised care across all areas of my work.
What matters to me
In my spare time, I enjoy being with my family and teaching trampolining!
Jo Hurd
Training Associate
Hello, I’m Jo – a senior healthcare manager and nurse with nearly 30 years of clinical, operational and strategic experience.
I currently work as a Programme Manager at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust developing education resources and training material to support “Future Planning” – which aims to ensure that co-ordinated, person-centred care and support considers an individual’s pre-determined wishes when they become unwell, or their condition deteriorates. I work across the local system to ensure successful implementation of the Future Planning Programme and to promote an integrated approach.
Throughout my career, I have always taken a collaborative approach and am passionately committed to improving patient outcomes and experience. I am a co-facilitator on the WASP Proactive Care Workshop.
What matters to me
I have four grown up children and a keen interest in urban art and mid-century design
Dr Hayden Kirk
Founding Member
Hello, my name is Hayden, I’m a founding member of WASP and have had the privilege of chairing and supporting the development of the team since it’s inception in 2016. My day job is with Solent NHS Trust where I am a Consultant Physiotherapist supporting patients with complex neurological conditions and I am also a Clinical Director for Solent NHS Trust in Southampton. My clinical area of speciality is in complex neurological patients and I work in multidisciplinary spasticity clinics in Southampton. My clinical, managerial and role as WASP chair enable me to pursue my passion for empowering staff and patients to try new ways of working to successfully manage the challenges that health conditions often bring.
What matters to me
Outside of work I seem to spend most of my time ferrying and watching our 3 children doing their respective activities, and as enjoyable as this is, I also try to occasionally find the time to go sailing and windsurfing.
Professor Mari Carmen Portillo
Research Lead
Mari Carmen Portillo is Professor of Long-Term Conditions at the University of Southampton and the Long Term Conditions theme lead for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex. Portillo is a mixed methods nurse researcher with wide experience in applied research, leading sustainable research programmes and multidisciplinary teams national and internationally in relation to living with Long Term Conditions, complex interventions and community social support. Portillo has national and international reputation as a lead in MLTC-M and an expert in building sustainable research programmes and research capacity across sectors.
Prof Portillo has secured over 24M in grants and programmes across countries and her work and leading/management model has always attracted new talents seeking further professional development and involved a successful research capacity and capability building strategy.
Prof Portillo leads the research element of the WASP programme.