Publish date: 13 May 2025
They provide high standards of skilled care and support during each phase of a person’s care – anaesthetic, surgery and recovery. We are stories of some of our ODP colleagues.
This year we are celebrating 80 years of the ODP role and the invaluable contributions that they make to patient care each and every day.
Chris Barben, Chief Medical Officer at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals said: “Having worked alongside many Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) during my own career, I feel extremely proud of our ODPs – they are highly-skilled members of the multi-disciplinary team in theatres and an essential group delivering vital patient care and safety.
"At the Trust we are committed not only to support our current ODPs but also to inspire the next generation. Thank you to all our ODPs for all that you do at our Trust.”
Below you can also find some fun facts about ODPs.
To celebrate National ODP day we spoke with three ODPs at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.
Read their stories here:
In total Ashley has 20 years’ service at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, starting in the payroll department then moving into a Rota coordinator role for Theatres as a non-clinical member of staff. When the apprenticeship opportunity opened, Ashley was encouraged to apply by his colleagues. “Initially I thought it was something I couldn’t do as a non-clinical member of staff but with some encouragement I decided to go for it and took the plunge. It wasn’t something I was aware of, and I had never worked clinically before but left my role and started the apprenticeship, which lasted three years.”
As part of the apprenticeship Ashley gained experience in three areas: recovery, scrub and anesthetics. Now working in the role Ashley rotates between the three areas and says that recovery is his favourite of the three, “I like reassuring patients after their procedure that it has all gone well and offering that 1-2-1 care.”
Reflecting on his role in payroll when he first started working at the Trust to his days now Ashley commented, “You literally don’t know what your day is going to look like. We work in day surgery, theatres, maternity and emergencies. Now I speak and meet loads of different people from different backgrounds and stories.”
Today, Ashley wanted to highlight his role to raise the awareness of ODPs.
Julie always knew she wanted to work in something clinically, first working as a dental nurse at Royal Preston Hospital, it was here she discovered the role of an ODP, “Working in the MaxFax clinics was really fascinating and it was there when they would send me to theatres to watch the big cases and I got a fascination with the role of the ODP. After having no prior knowledge about the roles, I pursued it and undertook my training in Blackpool which I’m so thankful for now because it set me off on my path.”
Very proud of her career as an ODP, Julie shared what sticks with her today, “Honestly you never knew what was going to come through the door, being in cardiac we had some very serious emergencies when on call, one minute you're asleep at home, the next rushing in to attend a rupturing Aorta".
Julie has worked as a Clinical Matron since January 2023. A Matron is very different to her previous role but is honored to be the Trusts first ODP in the role, “It has been a steep learning curve, although I would say I have a unique insight into how theatres run and having the clinical experience means I appreciate the challenges that theatres face".
Feeling the benefits of a fantastic career as an ODP, Julie had this advice for anyone thinking about it as a career, “Do your research in to the diverse roles. In my experience ODPs are passionate healthcare professionals who find their job rewarding and there is progressively more scope for career progression".
Lydia Pollard has been a qualified OPD for 5 years now after previously working as a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) in Theatres.
L
ydia now specialises in anesthetics and recovery but leaving sixth form she wasn’t always clear on what she wanted to do next, “Finishing sixth form I just didn’t know what I wanted to do at all, I have never even heard of an ODP at the time but saw the position for the HCA role and went for that.”
Now Lydia is responsible for preparing a patient for an anesthetic, and that starts when the patient first arrives, “My job is to meet the patient at the start of their perioperative journey, preparing them for anaesthetic and building a rapport”
"During the procedure I'll be monitoring the patient and assisting the anaesthetist with airway management"
Being in Theatre is a team effort and Lydia wanted to say a big thank you to all her ODP colleagues for their support and making each day enjoyable.
Operating Department Practitioner Tracy Ferguson has not only completed 33 years in her role, she’s also inspired her son and daughter to follow in her footsteps.
Tracy says “I was 18 years old when I started in 1992. When I applied for the role I saw it in the Blackpool Gazette – you didn’t need a degree then, I’d no previous medical experience. Obviously the role has got a lot more diverse, more challenging and we cover more areas than we did but I enjoy my job. I’ve been here a long time now, I work with all the anaesthetists, surgeons, all the different specialities like scrub, recovery. I find it really rewarding working with patients.”
Tracy’s children Harry and Chloe have both taken the degree route, with Chloe officially qualifying next month.
Harry says ”I’ve been qualified for coming up to my second year now. I did know from a young age, when I finished High School that I wanted to be close to where the action was – either in Theatres or in the Emergency Department, but I heard about this role from my Mum and it did lead me in this direction. I thought it sounded really good, getting to see the different specialities from orthopaedics, to trauma and emergency - getting to see something new every day. It’s nice to see people you know every day too, there’s always someone to talk to.”
Chloe agrees “When I was younger I’d hear about Mum’s work friends and now they’re my colleagues too. Mum always talked about how much she enjoyed working here too. So for her to have done it for 33 years, I think that inspired me. Also once Harry and Mum were working here, that made me want to join in. It’s good that if there’s anything we need to know, we have someone to ask.”
Tracy adds “It does help that we all get on so well together too….then we all go home and it’s “What’s for tea Mum?”.
Fun facts about ODPs:
Did you know that the ODP role covers three main areas of a patient's journey in theatres? These are: anaesthetics, scrub and recovery.
Did you know that in 2024, there were over 15,000 ODPs registered in the UK?
Did you know that ODPs make up one of the 15 Allied Health Professions (AHP)? They came under the AHP umbrella in April, 2017.
