VITAL hospital staff who form the "backbone" of operating theatres have been praised for training to take on extra responsibility.

The Operating Department Practitioners at Colchester Hospital typically work with anaesthetists and surgeons, or in recovery alongside other clinicians such as theatre nurses.

Their role involves ensuring patients are monitored throughout surgery, preparing the theatre, ensuring equipment is ready and safe to use and collecting patients for their operation.

They also recover the patient following surgery, help with the intubation, airway maintenance and anaesthetic of patients and help the surgeon in preparing and passing the instruments.

With routine surgery slowing due to changes because of Covid-19, the practitioners have had to adapt, retrain and work in new areas.

As part of the training, practitioners have joined four-person teams, working around the clock to attend all Covid-19 related intubations, cardiac arrests and trauma calls.

They will also take part in resuscitation intubation calls and some inter-hospital transfers.

The practitioners are one of the four members of the Mobile Emergency Rapid Intubation Teams, alongside a consultant anaesthetist, junior anaesthetist and a theatre assistant.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals, currently employs 65 operating department practitioners.

Wendy Hobbs, Colchester Hospital's theatres education lead, said: “Some of our ODPs at Colchester are now working in the intensive care unit, looking after very sick ventilated patients, monitoring pumps, medication, feeds as well as monitoring ventilated patients.

"The training has included medication training to support this new role.

"ODPs have not been covered by the trust to administer medication before."

She added: "Training was set up, competencies were set up for staff to meet, they had face-to-face training and everyone has pulled together to make it happen.

"I’m very proud of the way the ODPs have stepped up – it’s really brought our profession to the fore in the Trust."

Paul Culley, lead educator for theatres and anaesthetics at Ipswich Hospital, said: “ODPs are the backbone of theatres – they wouldn’t run without them.

"Over the last few weeks, the team has moved mountains to retrain and upskill so they can work in areas such as the critical care unit.

“Our wonderful ODPs have been manning the emergency theatres, trauma theatres and maintaining urgent surgery lists too, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”