About Us
Hartwood Health was set up in October 2019 by Paula Wood, a registered dietitian with many years of experience. She strongly believes that health issues are rarely solved in isolation. Instead, a whole-body approach is required to identify where a problem originates and how to achieve better health.
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It is for this reason that Hartwood Health has a broad team of specialists,
covering nutrition, counselling, musculoskeletal health, and more.
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Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
We can discuss your concerns and assist in finding the most appropriate treatment for you.
Meet The Teams
Our Nutrition experts
Paula Wood
Registered Dietitian
Paula is a registered dietitian with over 20 years of experience working in the public and private health sectors.
She started her career working in the NHS as a clinical dietitian, then moved over to research, working for the UK Armed Forces involved in large pieces of work improving the nutritional and physical health of military personnel.
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Paula understands the importance of realistic and practical nutrition advice to help individuals and populations reach their goals - whether this is with therapeutic diets for certain illnesses and conditions or optimising nutrition to improve health and wellbeing.
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Paula specialises in gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome and coeliac disease, weight loss, weight management and sports nutrition.
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Paula is a keen cyclist and loves to be out on her road bike - especially when it is sunny! She also enjoys keeping fit, reading and gardening. She has three children whom she loves being with but they don't currently share her enthusiasm for cycling!
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British Dietetic Association: 3658
Helen Simpson
Registered Dietitian
Helen has been a dietitian for over 20 years.
She is also a qualified food technology teacher.
Helen has worked for the NHS, the military and Private Healthcare companies as well as Macmillan and educational establishments.
She is currently working as an oncology and elderly care dietitian in the State of Guernsey.
Her interest lies in understanding people's behaviour around food and the choices they make. This is a hugely complex area but a fascinating one and unlocking it for individuals can make a huge difference in their relationship with food. She enjoys working with and supporting people to make constructive and lifelong changes to improve their health and well-being.
Helen's interests include swimming, DIY, caravanning and spending time with her dog.
HCPC: DT05408
British Dietetic Association: 3906
Ruth Stratford
Registered Dietitian
Ruth qualified as a dietitian in 2019 following a varied career, most recently running a small catering company.
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Since qualifying Ruth has worked with young adults with neuromuscular disorders and complex feeding requirements.
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Ruth’s main area of interest is irritable bowel disease (IBS) and other gastrointestinal disorders. Ruth has undertaken IBS and Low FODMAP training and is qualified to give specialist advice in these areas.
Ruth is really keen to provide practical, individual support to people to improve their quality of life and give them the skills to manage their conditions.
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Ruth is a keen cyclist and is out on the road at every opportunity. She also enjoys running and is attempting to train her dog to run with her.
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British Dietetic Association: 18456
Catherine Kidd
Paediatric Dietitian
Catherine is a registered dietitian with over 10 years of experience working in the public and private health sectors.
Catherine has worked as a clinical paediatric dietitian in the UK's top children's hospitals, promoting growth and nutrition in vulnerable children with issues ranging from allergies, faltering growth, fussy eating and obesity to managing tube feeding and gut issues.
Her main clinical and research interest lies within nutrition for cardiology and intensive care patients. She has also written two recipe books for low-sugar and vegan diets.
Catherine believes that if you can improve a child's nutrition, you can make a huge difference not only to their life and that of their family now, but can change their future. She understands the importance of setting realistic nutrition goals and will work with the parents and carers to reach them. She also works with expectant parents to optimise nutrition during pregnancy.
Catherine is a keen hiker, swimmer and cyclist. She lives in London with her husband and dog.
Craig Van Wyk
Paediatric Dietitian
Craig completed his studies in South Africa in 2010 and went on to work in a community hospital seeing children and adults.
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In 2013, he undertook a collaborative piece of research that was being conducted by the University of the Free State and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University looking into malnutrition in children aged under 5 years old. This built on his interest in paediatric nutrition.
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Craig moved to the UK in 2013 and commenced a role as a community paediatric dietitian working with children with neuro disabilities in London.
He now works at a residential school for children with physical disabilities many of whom have neuro disabilities and complex feeding issues.
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Craig works with children (and their families) to help them achieve the appropriate nutrition to optimise their growth and health.
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British Dietetic Association: 17837