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Operating department practitioner
In the United Kingdom, operating department practitioners (ODPs) are allied healthcare professionals who are involved in the planning and delivery of perioperative care. 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.
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). The latest figures provided by the HCPC identifies that their are currently 17,325 ODPs registered (Aug 2025). 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). Since 2018, a "national operating department practitioner day" has been celebrated annually on 14 May, aiming to highlight their role within healthcare.
Operating department practitioners are subject to specific standards of proficiency as laid out by the Health & Care Professions Council. Alongside this, their professional role is also broadly defined by the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP)'s Scope of Practice document as published by the college in 2009. The college went on to publish a national curriculum document in 2018 which demonstrated the revised BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Curriculum.
Operating department practitioners are highly skilled and dynamic healthcare professionals who provide skilled assistance to anaesthetists, administering anaesthesia in the operating departments within hospitals.
Their primary role is to function in tandem alongside their colleagues in order to establish a team which can effectively provide and maintain safe anaesthesia during surgery. This role requires the application of evidence-based practice and critical thinking alongside a wide range of professional and clinical abilities.
Prior to surgery, anaesthetic operating department practitioners will be tasked with completing a thorough and detailed diagnostic check of the anaesthetic machine, ensuring it has met its safety requirements and is fully operational. This includes the correct function and availability of essential medical gases and associated ventilatory equipment and breathing apparatus. The ODP is also responsible for ensuring that critical controlled and emergency medications are accessible prior to the induction of anaesthesia. They are also routinely charged as being custodians of the controlled drugs/scheduled medications held within their dedicated theatre, being assigned security keys which remain on their person throughout the day.
Some ODPs are responsible for conducting pre-operative assessments of the patient prior to their admission to the department. These assessments may vary and are institutionally dependant, but may include assessment of the mouth opening, protruding or unsecure dentition, range of movement in the cervical spine, current pregnancy status, fasting status, past medical history, known medication/food allergy status, history of communicable diseases or blood borne viruses, history of post-operative nausea and vomiting or individual/familial adverse reaction to anaesthetic agents. During an emergency clinical scenario where immediate treatment and response is required, the anaesthetist [doctor] may verbally request that the anaesthetic practitioner administer prescribed medications in response to the situation in hand.
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Operating department practitioner
In the United Kingdom, operating department practitioners (ODPs) are allied healthcare professionals who are involved in the planning and delivery of perioperative care. 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.
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). The latest figures provided by the HCPC identifies that their are currently 17,325 ODPs registered (Aug 2025). 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). Since 2018, a "national operating department practitioner day" has been celebrated annually on 14 May, aiming to highlight their role within healthcare.
Operating department practitioners are subject to specific standards of proficiency as laid out by the Health & Care Professions Council. Alongside this, their professional role is also broadly defined by the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP)'s Scope of Practice document as published by the college in 2009. The college went on to publish a national curriculum document in 2018 which demonstrated the revised BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Curriculum.
Operating department practitioners are highly skilled and dynamic healthcare professionals who provide skilled assistance to anaesthetists, administering anaesthesia in the operating departments within hospitals.
Their primary role is to function in tandem alongside their colleagues in order to establish a team which can effectively provide and maintain safe anaesthesia during surgery. This role requires the application of evidence-based practice and critical thinking alongside a wide range of professional and clinical abilities.
Prior to surgery, anaesthetic operating department practitioners will be tasked with completing a thorough and detailed diagnostic check of the anaesthetic machine, ensuring it has met its safety requirements and is fully operational. This includes the correct function and availability of essential medical gases and associated ventilatory equipment and breathing apparatus. The ODP is also responsible for ensuring that critical controlled and emergency medications are accessible prior to the induction of anaesthesia. They are also routinely charged as being custodians of the controlled drugs/scheduled medications held within their dedicated theatre, being assigned security keys which remain on their person throughout the day.
Some ODPs are responsible for conducting pre-operative assessments of the patient prior to their admission to the department. These assessments may vary and are institutionally dependant, but may include assessment of the mouth opening, protruding or unsecure dentition, range of movement in the cervical spine, current pregnancy status, fasting status, past medical history, known medication/food allergy status, history of communicable diseases or blood borne viruses, history of post-operative nausea and vomiting or individual/familial adverse reaction to anaesthetic agents. During an emergency clinical scenario where immediate treatment and response is required, the anaesthetist [doctor] may verbally request that the anaesthetic practitioner administer prescribed medications in response to the situation in hand.