Operating Department Practitioners Day - 14th May 2021

This year’s theme is ‘Celebrating personal and professional diversity’ so we want to encourage ODPs everywhere to share their stories of how they came to the profession and the highlights and challenges of the job. 

And whether you’re an ODP yourself (qualified or training), another healthcare professional, a grateful patient or a proud friend or family member, you can help celebrate this vital group of staff by downloading our graphics and sharing on social media, or printing out some posters to mark the day.

Graphic Poster

Graphic Facebook Social

Graphic Twitter Social

You could even print out one of the photo boards, write your own message and share a selfie on Facebook or Twitter.

And if we all use the #ODPday hashtag we can get it trending again like we did last year!

The role of the ODP

ODP works spans across three main areas: 

Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) have a wide and diverse range of skills across the 3 main areas of theatre, anaesthetics, scrub and recovery. ODPs are skilled in airway management and major incidents and can often be called to outlying areas of the hospital such as wards, ITU, SHDU and accident and emergency to assist with any critical care issues.

Anaesthetics: The ODP plays a vital role in this area working closely with the anaesthetist. Anaesthesia is a highly skilled area requiring attention to detail, sound knowledge of anatomy and pharmacology, technical knowledge of anaesthetic machines, drug infusion devices, patient positioning, airway management - the list is endless. We have to be able to use initiative, prior planning and preparation, as well as being a forward thinker when difficulties or incidents occur. It can be very fast paced. When patients are in the anaesthetic room, they are at their most vulnerable as they are often filled with anxiety. At this point, we must be able to alleviate the patients’ fears by using learned techniques ranging from humour to comforting words. Every patient has individual needs and we learn very quickly how to adapt and deal with each situation as it arises.

Scrub: This role also requires attention to detail and anticipation of surgeon and surgical needs. In this role, you work closely with the surgeons and other theatre practitioners ensuring all surgical equipment, instruments, swabs, sutures are available, and sterility has been maintained while we are operating. Organisation and knowledge of your instruments is paramount, particularly for surgery as what you start with, you must end with to ensure your final count is complete and accurate and patient safety has been maintained. Communication and teamwork is vital in the operating theatre.

Recovery: This is quite a diverse area for the ODP to work in, many skills are required in this department from airway management to pain relief, post anaesthesia care is often most difficult as the patients have less awareness and compliance due to the anaesthesia they have received. As a recovery practitioner you must have the ability and competence to safely discharge the recovering patient back to a ward or for the more complicated patient perhaps to high dependency or intensive care unit.

Teaching: ODP’s teach Student ODP’s. Student Nurses and Paramedics and also the new junior anaesthetists within the department - we can often be referred to as the junior anaesthetist’s safety blankets.
Patients come to theatre at their most vulnerable so you must be able to put them at ease, give support and look after them while both conscious and unconscious. Theatre is a very fast paced critical care environment to work in, you need to be able to plan ahead, anticipate difficulties and respond to incidents when they occur. 

To find out more about working as an ODP in NHS Fife, contact Claire Lee. Theatre Manager

A voice from the team

And here are some thoughts from one of our very own ODPs, Janine Cairns from Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline...

ODPs have played a huge part during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly early last year on the front line. The ODPs and Anaesthetic Nurses were responsible for assisting with intubating Covid patients before entering the Intensive Care unit, this would take place in A and E or within the dedicated Covid-19 intubation theatre. 

We are valued members of the theatre team, ensuring patients receive a safe anaesthetic for their surgery. We also assist in the safe preparation of surgical instruments and ensure the patients recover well from anaesthesia in recovery. Our training relates specifically to all three areas of Theatre; Anaesthetics, Scrub and Recovery. We are the patient's advocate and we work closely with anaesthetic doctors and surgeons.

And here are just some of the team...