In the United Kingdom, operating department practitioners (ODPs) are allied healthcare professionals[1] who are involved in the planning and delivery of perioperative care.[2] As the name suggests, they are primarily employed in surgical operating departments, but they may also work directly within (or further their training to facilitate working within) a variety of acute clinical settings, including 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, university lecturers, Hemostasis practitioners, education and development practitioners, departmental managers, perioperative team leaders, surgical care practitioners or quality improvement facilitators.[3]
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)[4] 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.[4] 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.[5] ODPs work as members of multi-disciplinary teams that include anaesthetists, surgeons, nurses, radiographers, physician's assistant and theatre support workers (TSWs).[6] Since 2018, a "national operating department practitioner day" has been celebrated annually on 14 May, aiming to highlight their role within healthcare.[7]