Operating Department Practitioner / Registered Nurse

Michelle Mitchell, Unit Manager,

Call: 01977747525

About The Role

Join the team that's shaping the future of elective orthopaedic surgery

Do you want to work somewhere your skills are valued, your development is supported, and your work genuinely makes a difference?

At Pontefract Hospital Theatres, we're building something exciting.

As a newly accredited Elective Orthopaedic Hub within Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, we're expanding our theatre team and are looking for enthusiastic and motivated registered nurses and operating department practitioners to help deliver outstanding care for our patients.

This is more than just another theatre role. It's an opportunity to become part of a friendly, highly skilled team where collaboration, respect and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything we do.

Why choose Pontefract Hospital?

Our theatres provide planned elective surgery within a calm, organised environment, allowing our teams to focus on delivering exceptional patient care without many of the pressures associated with emergency operating.

As part of our multidisciplinary theatre team, you will provide safe, high-quality perioperative care across a range of elective surgical specialties, with a particular focus on our expanding orthopaedic service.

You will play an important role in delivering excellent patient outcomes while supporting the continued growth of the Hub.

We Offer

• A supportive leadership team committed to your wellbeing and professional development
• Monday to Friday elective working, promoting an excellent work-life balance
• Opportunities to develop and enhance both anaesthetic and scrub competencies
• The chance to work within a newly accredited Elective Orthopaedic Hub delivering high-quality planned care
• A welcoming, inclusive team where every member is valued and encouraged to contribute
• Opportunities to influence and shape the future of our expanding service
• Access to excellent learning, education and career progression within the Trust.
  
  

Main duties

As a theatre practitioner, you will be a valued member of our multidisciplinary team, delivering safe, compassionate and high-quality perioperative care to patients undergoing elective surgery within our newly accredited Elective Orthopaedic Hub.

Working alongside surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre colleagues, you will play a key role in ensuring every patient receives outstanding care throughout their perioperative journey while contributing to the continued development of our expanding elective service.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include

• Delivering high standards of patient-centred care throughout the perioperative journey, ensuring patients feel safe, informed and supported at every stage of their surgical experience.
• Providing skilled anaesthetic assistance as an autonomous practitioner, anticipating the needs of the anaesthetist, preparing equipment and responding effectively to changes in the patient's condition.
• Working as a scrub practitioner, ideally within elective orthopaedic surgery, maintaining strict aseptic technique, preparing specialist instrumentation and supporting the surgical team to deliver safe, efficient and high-quality care.
• Actively maintaining and developing competence in both anaesthetic and scrub practice, embracing opportunities to broaden your clinical expertise in line with service development and supporting the continued growth and resilience of the accredited Elective Orthopaedic Hub.
• Working collaboratively with surgeons, anaesthetists, operating department practitioners, registered nurses, clinical support workers and the wider multidisciplinary team to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.
• Promoting the highest standards of patient safety through effective communication, accurate documentation and compliance with Trust policies, AfPP guidance, national standards and professional codes of practice.
• Preparing, checking and maintaining theatre environments, specialist equipment and surgical instrumentation to ensure theatres are safe, efficient and ready for use.
• Contributing to quality improvement initiatives, audit, service development and innovation, helping to shape the future of elective orthopaedic services within Mid Yorkshire.
• Supporting the learning and development of students, apprentices, newly appointed colleagues and other members of the theatre team, acting as a positive role model and promoting a culture of continuous learning.
• Demonstrating flexibility by supporting services across the Trust in line with service requirements and your individual competencies. Whilst your substantive base will be Pontefract Hospital, there may be occasions where support is required at Pinderfields Hospital and, more occasionally, at other Trust sites, ensuring the continued delivery of safe, effective patient care.
• Maintaining your professional registration, mandatory training and continuing professional development, taking personal responsibility for keeping your knowledge, skills and clinical competencies current.
  
  

Qualifications

Essential person specification requirements

• RODP/RN
• Willingness to undertake mentorship/assessor qualification
  
  

Experience

• Previous experience in theatre setting
  
  

Knowledge and Awareness

• Essential knowledge of your own speciality and current issues in health care
• Ability to demonstrate evidence based practice.
• Continued Professional Development
• Awareness of own limitations
  
  

Skills And Abilities

• An ability to work within the peri-operative team and organise and prioritise own and others workload.
• Commitment to training
  
  

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification to review the full requirements.

Be part of MY team

We are an acute trust caring for over one million people in Wakefield and Kirklees. Our 10,000 staff work in patients’ homes, the community, and our three hospitals in Pontefract, Dewsbury, and Pinderfields (Wakefield). We prioritise our people and values so we can deliver the best possible care to patients. Our team is friendly, passionate, and innovative, always seeking better ways to work.

Whilst Pontefract Hospital's newly accredited Elective Orthopaedic Hub will be your substantive base, you'll also have opportunities to work alongside experienced colleagues across our wider theatre network, which includes Pinderfields Hospital and Dewsbury and District Hospital. There is also possibility to support Boothroyd day case Centre, the Surgical Hub at Dewsbury and the Eye Centre at Pinderfields

Working across our theatre services offers the chance to broaden your clinical expertise, gain experience across a wide range of surgical specialities and patient pathways, and collaborate with highly skilled multidisciplinary teams. Whether you're looking to enhance your anaesthetic and scrub competencies, expand your specialist knowledge or develop your leadership potential, cross-site working provides a wealth of professional development opportunities.

Our teams work collaboratively across all hospital sites to ensure patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care wherever they are treated. As a Trust-wide Theatre Practitioner, flexibility to work across our theatre services is therefore an essential requirement of this role and forms part of the conditions of employment.

This role offers the best of both worldsthe opportunity to be part of the close-knit, highly regarded team at Pontefract Hospital whilst benefiting from the breadth of experience and career opportunities available across Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust.

We support work-life balance and foster a diverse, inclusive environment where everyone belongs. Our staff networks offer safe spaces to share ideas and concerns so we can increase awareness and appreciation of equality, diversity, and inclusion. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and especially encourage members of the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities or neurodivergence to apply, as they are currently underrepresented in the Trust.

If you value caring, high standards, improvement, and respect, join the MY team to make a difference every day.

Application Guidance

We understand that more applicants are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help with their applications. While these tools can be useful, they cannot fully capture your skills, knowledge, and experience. It’s important that you personalise your application. Relying solely on AI is not recommended, as it may reduce your chances of success. Our screening process is thorough, so if you have used AI, please make sure to disclose this on your application form.

Application Tips

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Our Benefits

• Access to the NHS pension plan
• Generous holiday allowance of 27 days plus bank holidays, increasing with 5 and 10 years of service
• Exceptional employee health and wellbeing services
• Extensive benefits and support, including:
• Onsite nurseries and childcare salary sacrifice scheme
• Home electronics scheme
• Cycle to work scheme - subject to eligibility criteria
• Car lease salary sacrifice scheme - subject to eligibility criteria
• Working carers support and advice, carers network and carers passport
• Flexible working options and family and carer-friendly policies
• Established staff networks, including LGBTQ+ and Race Equality
• Career progression, training and support
  
  

Skilled worker sponsorship

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