Operating department practitioner

rdf:langString Operating department practitioner

rdf:langString Operating department practitioners (ODPs) are specialist allied healthcare professionals or clinicians involved in the planning and delivery of perioperative care. They are primarily employed in surgical operating departments but may also work directly within or further their training to facilitate working within a variety of acute clinical settings. These include pre-hospital emergency care, emergency departments, intensive care units (ICUs), endoscopy suites, interventional radiology, cardiac catheter suites, obstetric theatres and reproductive medicine. Operating department practitioners may be employed directly as or may further their training to become resuscitation officers, advanced critical care practitioners, research practitioners, university lecturers, vascular access practitioners, radiology specialist practitioners, blood transfusion practitioners, education and development practitioners, departmental managers, perioperative team leaders, surgical care practitioners or quality improvement facilitators. ODPs are commonly employed as cardiac arrest, medic emergency, obstetric emergency and inter-hospital transfer team members. Operating department practitioners make up one of the 14 allied health professions as defined by NHS England and are professionally autonomous practitioners who hold a protected title within the United Kingdom. As of 2004 the profession has been regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and thus falls under the remit of the chief allied health professions officer (CAHPO). Since 2017 there have been upwards of 13,000 registrants added to the HCPC's register. ODPs are also supported and advised by their professional body the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP). The college represents practitioners in various aspects of professional, educational and workplace matters, entering into its 75th year of existence in 2020. ODPs work as members of multi-disciplinary teams that include anaesthetists, surgeons, nurses, radiographers, physician's assistant and theatre support workers (TSWs). National operating department practitioner day, in the UK, is 14 May and the inaugural celebration was 2018. This day provides an opportunity for ODPs across the country to highlight their role within healthcare.