YOU may never heard of them but operating department practitioners (ODPs) are a vital part of the operating theatre team in Warrington Hospital.

The Warrington Guardian went behind the scenes to watch a hip replacement, explore the specialist role and see their work in action.

ODPs provide a high standard of patient-focused care during anaesthesia, surgery and recovery, responding to patients' physical and psychological needs.

Whether they are placed on anaesthetics, scrubs or recovery, on a typical day, the ODPs are with the patient through their entire surgical journey.

Denis Ward, an advanced ODP, has worked at Warrington Hospital for more than 50 years.

The Grappenhall resident joined the hospital in 1968 and has witnessed immense change within the NHS.

Denis, 68, said: "The students nowadays are triple trained, they do scrub, anaesthetics and recovery – in our day it was just anaesthetics.

"I lost my dad when I was young, there was only me and mum at home and I was going to be a farmer but it meant going to college and university.

"A friend of mine said I should come and work at the hospital. I said it wasn't for me but it just took off from there really.

"There have been lots of changes in the NHS, all for the better.

"It is good to see the students coming through now and they are taking on the job and I hope they like it as much as I have."

While working in theatre is a highly-pressurised role, Denis says the work camaraderie is essential.

He said: "I work with some brilliant people and you have to have a good banter in here.

"We take our profession very seriously but you have to have that flexibility where you can have a good sense of humour.

"Warrington Hospital is a fantastic place to work."

Warrington Guardian:

The surgery team in action

Natalie Duthie, from Great Sankey, decided to train as an ODP after a 10-year career in the music industry. She is currently in her final year at Edge Hill University.

The 36-year-old said: "It was a bit of a change for me, I had a baby and decided that I could not do the hours anymore and wanted something more stable.

"I started working as a healthcare assistant at Spire for four years and two years ago I started training here."

Last week, Natalie was working on anaesthetics so she met the patient from the ward and helped with intubating.

Natalie added: "It is hard work as a student but it is very fulfilling."

Lauren Monaghan, from Orford, secured a scholarship after learning under the tutelage of staff at Warrington Hospital and qualified in September 2016.

Warrington Guardian:

The team with reporter Isobel Cotogni

The 24-year-old former Priestley College student said: "I really enjoy the job, every day is different.

"I do not think anything can prepare you, even as a student, for some of the interesting things you come across.

"There's great teamwork and the staff are all very experienced and brilliant to work with."

With only 12,000 ODPs in the country, the position is relatively unknown but they work across organisations providing emergency care and also transfer of critically ill patients.

Phillip Winstanley, ODP assistant service manager, trained in the Army and has been at Warrington Hospital for 20 years.

He said: "Nobody knows who we are really but when the patients come to the barrier, we are the last people they see before they are anaesthetised.

"They are anxious but we are able to have a personal journey with them."

The ODP team can offer work experience to sixth form students interested in a career in theatre.