Mrs Laura Wood

Mrs Laura Wood is a Registered Learning Disability Nurse, Independent Health and Social Care Consultant and expert witness, serving as Owner Director of LSW Care Solutions Ltd since July 2020. Her principal areas of expertise include learning disabilities, autism, older people’s care, dementia, mental health, safeguarding and the delivery of safe, effective care across health and social care settings.

With over 20 years of experience across NHS, primary care and social care services, Mrs Wood has developed extensive clinical and leadership expertise in supporting individuals with complex care needs, including those presenting with distressed or high-risk behaviour. Her experience spans residential and nursing homes, supported living, community services, respite care, secure care and prison healthcare.

Through LSW Care Solutions, she supports health and social care providers with clinical governance, service quality, investigations, regulatory compliance and service improvement. Her work involves reviewing care practices, policies, risk management procedures and organisational standards to promote safe, person-centred care.

Having held senior clinical quality and compliance positions at both local and national levels, Mrs Wood brings a comprehensive understanding of care planning, safeguarding, staff competence, multidisciplinary working and the operational challenges faced by health and social care providers.

Mrs Laura Wood has undertaken medico-legal work since 2020, providing independent expert opinion in clinical negligence, personal injury, coronial inquests, fitness-to-practise proceedings, safeguarding and health and social care regulatory matters. She accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors.

Her medico-legal practice focuses on standards of nursing care across older people’s services, learning disability and autism care, mental health and secure settings, and residential and nursing homes. She is instructed on cases involving unexpected deaths, falls, choking incidents, medication errors, tissue viability concerns, neglect and failures in supervision or care planning.

Mrs Wood prepares screening, breach of duty, causation and nursing care needs reports, alongside serious incident and care quality reviews. She assesses whether care provision met expected professional standards and has experience of coronial proceedings, court attendance and giving evidence.

Mrs Wood’s clinical interests centre on the assessment of care needs, risk management and the quality of care provided to individuals with complex health and social care requirements. She has particular expertise in supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, dementia and mental health conditions, including individuals who present with distressed or high-risk behaviour.

Her practice encompasses the evaluation of care planning, supervision and support arrangements within residential care, nursing homes, supported living and community settings. She has a specialist interest in identifying risks associated with falls, mobility, choking, nutrition and hydration, medication management and tissue viability, alongside the practical measures required to maintain patient safety.

A further focus of her work is safeguarding vulnerable individuals and evaluating how staffing levels, professional competence, communication and multidisciplinary working influence care delivery. She applies her clinical knowledge through reviews of care records, incidents, policies and everyday care practices, helping providers identify risks, strengthen clinical governance and improve the consistency and safety of care.

Mrs Wood contributed the article “Autism and Offending", published in Learning Disability Practice in 2009. The publication reflects her specialist knowledge of autism and its relevance within offending behaviour and healthcare settings, complementing her professional experience in learning disability nursing and supporting individuals with complex needs.