Our impressive track record in patient safety and infection control demonstrates our commitment to clinical excellence and patient service delivery. Perioperative Practitioners play an important role in maintaining these standards and ensuring patient satisfaction by providing specialist support in the areas of scrub, anaesthetic and recovery to consultants and the theatre team.
A number of our theatre practitioners have secured Theatre Manager posts and we are very keen to encourage this progression.
Working side by side with some of the UKs top consultants you will support a wide range of surgical procedures due to the complexity of services offered by Spire hospitals. These may include cardiac, bariatrics, oncology, ophthalmology. gastrointestinal, neurosurgery and gynaecology, as well as orthopaedics and general surgery. Ideally you will provide support in all 3 areas of scrub, anaesthetics and recovery, or you may have chosen to specialise in one of these areas.
In Spire we are constantly looking to broaden the range of services available to patients which often exposes Perioperative Practitioners to the latest or brand new technology, equipment and procedures, as well as consultants who are leaders in their field. We know that the calibre of our theatre teams, particularly Perioperative Practitioners, can be instrumental in attracting consultants to choose to provide their services from Spire hospitals.
An essential aspect of working in Spire is teamworking. In the course of your work you will interact with a wide range of colleagues from the Wards, Theatre Porters, and the Decontamination Unit amongst others. A key part of your effectiveness is in the way you promote the continuity and level of care for the patient to other colleagues as the patient moves through their surgery.
Training and Development
Your training starts on the day you join with a comprehensive induction programme, and leads on to mandatory training including infection control and core clinical training and medical device competencies. You can look forward to further training in immediate and acute illness management, critical care competencies and where appropriate advanced life support. We offer a fast track Perioperative BSc (Hons) degree programme through which you will be offered accredited modules in law, research, advanced scrub practitioner skills, work based learning, service development, reflective practice and research practice. Alternatively, you may wish to substitute scrub practitioner skills for recovery or anaesthetic practice.
Your career prospects
You can consider studying for further specialist qualifications eg Advanced Scrub Practitioner or in other skills, such as becoming a NVQ Assessor or supporting learning in practice. We are keen to promote from within the Spire network so studying for supervisory and management qualifications can help you progress within the company. A number of our Theatre practitioners have secured Theatre Manager posts and we are very keen to encourage these ambitions. A number of Theatre Managers have become the Head of Clinical Services in Spire hospitals where their previous experience of this key department has proved invaluable.
What we are looking for
You will be a Registered Nurse or an Operating Department Practitioner ideally working towards a post registration qualification. You will have experience of working in teams and working with minimum supervision. Ideally you will have experience of applying clinical reasoning skills to a range of complex and varied patient case mixes, although we often have vacancies for newly qualified practitioners.
Importantly you will be passionate about patient care, high clinical standards and looking for ways to improve the way we run our business. Your collaborative approach to team working will mean you fit in well with our culture, and we really value people who are organised and efficient. We need you to be willing to be flexible in your working patterns and processes and show empathy for vulnerable and sick patients. A satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau check is essential for this role.