THEATRE staff at Airedale Hospital have been raising awareness of their work.

They used National Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) Day to tell colleagues and the public more about their profession.

ODPs work with patients of all ages at each phase of a person’s operation – anaesthetics, surgery and recovery.

They are also involved in managing the preparation of the theatre and equipment.

Karen Taylor, for the theatres team at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “ODPs do anaesthetics, scrub and recovery.

“They are the practitioners specific to theatres.”

ODP Dean Harness, who was formerly a health care support worker, said: “It’s nice that we were given the opportunity to put our profession out there, because often people just ‘fall into’ ODP training rather than looking at it as a specific career.”

The hospital also has a number of students who are taking a degree in operating practice.

For more details about ODP careers, visit healthcareers.nhs.uk.