Ellie began working for the National Health Service in 1977. Her nursing experience within the hospital environment included medical, surgical and coronary care. Following several years within a specialist cardiac unit (CCU), she undertook a career change to community nursing in 1988. Ellie was appointed District Nursing Sister in 1994 and obtained her Specialist Practitioner qualification in 1997, beginning as a Community Practice Teacher in 1998.

Ellie conceived and introduced an innovative, social Leg Club model for lower limb management in the community in 1995, and has since disseminated the concept worldwide. She left the NHS to become an independent specialist practitioner and clinical consultant in December 2002. In January 2003, she was appointed Associate Lecturer (CRICP, Thames Valley University, London) and in December 2003 Visiting Fellow, Queensland University of Technology. Ellie established The Lindsay Leg Club Foundation, a registered charity, in September 2005.

Ellie has published more than 80 articles, predominantly concerning the psychosocial Leg Club Model and person-centred care, for such periodicals as the British Journal of Community Nursing, Primary Intention, Wounds UK, the Journal of Wound Care and Nursing Standard, and she is a frequent contributor to the Wounds UK and British Journal of Nursing Journals.  She is regularly invited to speak at UK and international conferences and study days.

Ellie has received multiple awards for her Leg Club model, including the 2001 British Journal of Nursing Award for Clinical Practice, the Nursing Standard Nurse 2003 (Wound Care) Award, the 2007 British Journal of Nursing Award for Health Promotion, and the 2007 Wounds UK Award for Innovation in Patient Care.

In 2011, she received national recognition for her contribution to nursing when she was awarded one of the professions highest distinctions – The British Journal of Nursing Lifetime Achievement Award. She continues to facilitate the introduction of Leg Clubs in the UK, Australia and Europe.

In 2015, Ellie was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to nursing. The honour recognises the years of hard work and commitment to the Leg Club model which is recognised as a viable, replicable and cost-effective way to treat people with lower limb problems.

In 2018 Ellie was conferred a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute (FQNI)

In August 2018, she received international recognition from The Arias Medical Foundation and The Scientific Institute of Higher Education, Mexico by being presented with an Award for Excellence.

In November 2018, she was honoured by the International Society of Paediatric Woundcare (ISPeW) and received an Education Award for Excellence in Wound care and become the first ISPeW honorary board member