An Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) is an Allied Health Professional who works in operating theatres and is a key part of the surgical team.
An Operating Department Practitioner will assist the anaesthetist during an operation with general and local anaesthetics, prepare equipment and drugs needed for the operation, participate in the operation working with the surgical team passing instruments to the surgeon and ensure all equipment is accounted for and will receive and assess patients in the recovery area once the operation is complete, providing treatment until they’re ready to be discharged.
Working life
Working as an Operating Department Practitioner will mean that you’ll take part in a variety of different tasks during your working day. These can include:
- Working with members of the surgical team to provide care during each phase of a patient’s perioperative care – anaesthetic, surgery and recovery
- Prepare the operating theatre ready to receive a service user
- Be responsible for the equipment used in an operation
- Assist in surgeries where required
- Communicate with the surgical team, operating theatre and other staff in the hospital
- Support service users before surgery
- Support and monitor the service users until they have recovered from the effects of the anaesthetic and have been discharged to a ward
Operating Department Practitioners work in acute hospitals and locations where there are operating theatres This can be for the NHS or for a private hospital setting.
Operating Department Practitioners usually work with service users on a one to one basis but can be responsible for a number of patients before and after surgery to ensure continuity of care throughout their treatment journey.
Requirements
Becoming an Operating Department Practitioner requires an undergraduate degree in operating department practice.
You will usually require a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grades 4 to 9 or A to C or equivalent as well as A-level or equivalent qualifications such as a T-level.
Each university sets its own entry requirements, so it’s important to check with them directly which qualifications they will accept. In most cases, the results of an interview and other selection processes are also considered as well as your academic qualifications.
Once you have qualified as an Operating Department Practitioner, you will need to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) before you can start practising.
Working as an Operating Department Practitioner will also provide further opportunities to develop your career through apprenticeships and internal training in the future.
Degree apprenticeship route
For those interested in becoming an Operating Department Practitioner, there is a degree apprenticeship programme available for operating theatre practice.
To access the degree apprenticeship route, you would need to either apply for an apprentice post at a healthcare employer willing to support the programme or work as a Health Care Assistant in theatres first before accessing the apprenticeship programme as an internal candidate.
Personal characteristics
To work successfully as an Operating Department Practitioner, you need to consider your own personal characteristics. You would need to have the following attributes or similar:
- Be accurate and methodical and have good attention to detail
- Be able to work as part of a team but also be able to use your own initiative
- Be willing to follow procedures and take instruction from senior team members
- Be able to work with all people from various backgrounds with different experiences
- Be interested in new technologies
- Be safety conscious
- Be confident
Skills Required
To work successfully as an Operating Department Practitioner, you need to consider the skills that you have. You would need to demonstrate the following:
- Be well organised and able to plan your time and the treatment plan of your service users
- Be able to communicate with a variety of people using different methods
- Be comfortable discussing treatment plans with service users where required
- Be empathetic and supportive of service users as you will have to offer emotional support before, during and after an operation
Training and development opportunities
Once qualified and registered as an Allied Health Professional Operating Department Practitioner with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), you can continue to develop your career over time. You’ll have access to a yearly continuing professional development (CPD) check-in where you can discuss any additional training needs or qualifications you would like to achieve.
Once you have experience as an Operating Department Practitioner, you can specialise in a number of different areas. You could progress into management, undertake further training to become a surgical care practitioner, anaesthesia associate or advanced critical care practitioner. You could also use your skills to teach or complete further research.
Pay and benefits
Operating Department Practitioners in the NHS usually work 37.5 hours per week with the need to work flexibly over 7 days. You could be required to work shifts, evenings and weekends too.
Operating Department Practitioners are paid using the Agenda for Change (AfC) system and will typically start their career on AfC band 5 but with experience, further training and additional qualifications, can progress further up the pay scale. Other benefits of working as an Operating Department Practitioner include access to a pension scheme, health service discounts such as a Blue Light Card and 27 days of annual leave in addition to bank holidays.