ODP case study
What does an Operating Department Practitioner do?
Operating Department Practitioner (ODPs) support the multi-disciplinary team to help deliver perioperative care in all kinds of surgery within a hospital. Their role includes assessing the patient’s vitals throughout the procedure, and supporting patients through the pre- and post-operative period. They assess when a patient is ready to go back to the wards, and help surgeons deliver the best care possible by preparing all of their materials in advance and by maintaining communication between the operating department and the rest of the hospital. Although primarily working in the Theatre and Recovery complex, ODPs also work in critical care, pre-operative assessment, A&E resus and other interventional areas such as Cath labs and interventional radiology to help deliver high quality care to patients.
Hear from Bella, an ODP at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Brief description of my role: Within theatres I am responsible for making sure that emergency and obstetric patients receive a high standard of patient centred care. I am trained within anaesthetics in supporting the anaesthetist to care for the anaesthetised patient and within the surgical team to either scrub with the surgeons or to circulate for the surgical team providing them with additional sterile equipment. I have coordinated both the emergency theatres and theatres complex to ensure that patients receive their procedure in a timely manner. Within my new governance role I will be responsible for making sure that staff are kept up to date with our current governance agenda, identify and mitigate risk to both patients and staff and much, much more!
Happy healthy people providing excellent compassionate care
Where/how long I trained: I trained at the UEA 2011-2013
Career progression so far: Within the Emergency Theatre team I became a deputy team leader in 2017 and very recently have progressed to the Theatres Governance and Risk Management Facilitator in 2021
What I enjoy about my job: I love that I get to help people and work as part of a big team in making people better when they can be critically unwell. I have loved working in Obstetrics as it’s very special to be part of a families special day when they get to meet their child.
