Hello! Im Jess, the head physio here at Jessica Woods Physiotherapy.
A little about me
I’m from Camberley, which is where I live with my husband, our two children and our dog.
I qualified as a physio from the University of Nottingham in 2010, when physio jobs were quite scarce! I managed to get a job at my local hospital – Frimley Park, and stayed here for 2 years to complete my junior rotations. I then moved to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough where I developed my skills and gained a passion for neurology. I loved it and stayed for nearly 10 years in various departments within physiotherapy.
After I had my two children I decided I wanted more flexibility for my job to work around my family, and so I said goodbye to the NHS and started my own business. Working privately wasn’t completely new to me – from when I first qualified I’ve always worked privately in some form for various private practices and sports teams, however this is the first time I have been solely self employed!
When I worked for Frimley Park hospital, I also worked for a private practice called Watchetts Physio – now known as The Physio Camberley. I worked here 2 evenings a week for several years, and although I stopped doing regular hours once I left Frimley, I still came back to do holiday cover. When I was on maternity leave I started considering my work options, and so I asked Jan Hughes (the owner) if she may have any regular hours for me again. Amazingly she said yes! So I have restarted working at The Physio Camberley one day a week and doing some more holiday cover. I really enjoy working here, and in some ways it feels like home coming back to work somewhere that I was so early on in my career.
Later on when I was working at Wexham Park Hospital I had a chance meeting with Sophie Dhenin (the owner of Scorpio Clinics). I was at Gatwick airport with my husband and his family. My father in law knew Sophie well as he’d been a regular patient of hers when he was running marathons. He introduced us and Sophie said if I was interested in any more work to send her my CV. I did, and from then I started to do some work for Scorpio Clinics, mainly seeing any neuro patients who were referred to them. I stopped for a short while during my pregnancies, but still on occassion will see patients at Scorpio Clinics.
Leaving the NHS
Having always worked in private practice in some form, it has been in the back of my mind that I would like to start my own business and work for myself. I found after having my two children that my work life balance looked rather different to what it did before, and it felt like the perfect time to consider my options! I felt I had a good bredth of experience to support me moving forward, and luckily a very supportive husband who also runs his own business! So I returned to the NHS for a short period before handing in my notice to start solo! It has been quite a challenging transition at times, but also really exciting! I’m looking forward to seeing what the future will hold for Jessica Woods Physiotherapy.
