Meet Emma – the Operating Department Practitioner who delivers outstanding preoperative care

Meet Emma!

After working as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) in the anaesthetic room at Sheffield Children’s for four years, Emma made the move into preoperative care in 2020, making her one of a select few ODPs across the country that are involved in this area. In her current role, Emma is relishing the opportunity to offer holistic care for children, young people and their families who require additional support with managing anxiety in the lead up to a procedure.

Emma said: “As an ODP in the anaesthetic room, I had a really strong understanding of the needs of some of our patients and families. Preparing for a procedure can be extremely stressful and being involved in process made me realise the importance of robust preoperative support and the difference that it can make. Giving young people a space to articulate their anxiety has allowed us to build trust in the build up to a procedure, which has led to an efficient and effective process on the day.”

What is an ODP?

Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are professionals who offer invaluable support in the operating theatre, often throughout three phases of perioperative care: anaesthetic, surgery and recovery. After joining Sheffield Children’s in 2016 as an ODP, Emma worked closely with anaesthetists at Sheffield Children’s, looking after children and young people when in the anaesthetic room.

“In my first ODP role, I worked in theatres here at Sheffield Children’s. I mainly worked in anaesthetics and was able to really connect with many of the young people who came in for procedures. I really value working with children and young people, and in this role I’m able to be a helping hand that supports them through a difficult time.”

The additional needs preoperative care pathway

Emma delivers Practitioner-Led Additional Needs (PLAN) clinics, supporting patients who require general anxiety management prior to their procedure without the need for any medical assistance. Working alongside practitioners, consultants and play specialists, Emma identifies patients and families that would benefit from her support.

Emma said: “Anxiety stemming from general anaesthetic is very common, and there are a few ways in which we try to manage it. Some of our patients want to know more about the procedure and showing them pictures and demystifying some of their ideas can be enough. Sometimes there are more specific worries that we can try to dispel and work through too. With our symbol assisted timeline we can show patients and families what comes next, and we can reintroduce the idea of a routine.”

“We also do a lot of desensitisation – showing the children and young people that we see what a cannula looks like and how it works. We can then show them how we cannulate and allow them to take home a needle-free cannula. Transparency is really key in building confidence.”

Emma’s work has been crucial in supporting patients and their families to manage their anxiety and make sure that they feel safe and comfortable prior to their procedure. It has also meant that Sheffield Children’s has been able to put in place a guideline for managing the use of restrictive practice in theatres, becoming one of the only paediatric Trusts across the country to implement this.

Emma said: “Before this pathway existed, it was expected that practitioners adapt on the day. We are now able to identify some of our patients who might require this support and put a plan in place prior to their procedure to make sure that they feel safe and comfortable on the day.”

“We can’t identify every young person who holds in their anxiety until the last minute. However, with those who do feel overwhelmed on the day of their procedure, we can introduce them to the clinic afterwards create a plan. We then have a strong success rate on getting them through on the next phase.”

We’d like to thank Emma for speaking with us!