Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common and distressing clinical problem following surgery and affects 1 in 4 patients. If not treated appropriately PONV can potentially increase mortality (e.g. through aspiration and dehydration) and ...

This article demonstrates the use of a practice development idea of implementing a hover mattress, as opposed to the use of a pat slide and slide sheet, during the lateral transfer of patients in the perioperative environment.

The laryngoscope is a vital piece of surgical equipment that all operating department practitioners (ODPs) need to be familiar with. It was initially developed to perform laryngoscopy, a procedure that is used to obtain a view of the vocal chords and the ...

The wearing of sterile gloves is a vitally important element within the perioperative environment. The function of surgical gloves is to act as a protective barrier between the patient, the surgeon and other members of the surgical team where there is ...

Human error can be defined as the ‘failure of a planned action’ (). The study of human and team error in the operating theatre is slowly gathering momentum as we acquire further evidence that many patient iatrogenic injuries and adverse ...

Operating department practitioner (ODP) education and training in the UK is located at the intersection of the field of health, as well as that of higher education (HE). In the past, both have been subject to growth to meet workforce delivery targets and, ...