Theatres Recruitment

We have exciting opportunities available to join a close working team carrying out a wide variety of specialised elective and emergency procedures in the treatment of congenital heart disease. Our hospital is on the frontline of the latest interventions that are less invasive than open heart surgery. The interventional and surgical teams work together to deliver an excellent patient service as part of one of the busiest centres for congenital heart disease in the country. The cardiac electrophysiology (EP) and device therapy is a tertiary regional service.

The roles in Angio provides the opportunity to gain scrub and circulating skills in assisting with angiography, complex interventional procedures including right ventricular outflow tract stenting, transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement, pacemaker and ICD implantation and electrophysiology.  We operate Monday to Friday and also provide a 24/7 365 day on call service covering interventional cardiology, interventional radiology and interventional neuroradiology. There is an expectation for scrub staff to join this rota once all competencies have been achieved.

We are a small team who work closely together in addition to being part of the wider multidisciplinary team in the cardiac catheter lab, working to support our five cardiology consultants in our specialist cardiac catheter lab.

Theatre 9 is the Burns and plastics theatre located in the Burns Centre of the children's hospital, here we treat children who have suffered burns or scalds ranging from minor to life threatening. Our patients often make multiple trips to theatre, initially to clean their burns, then for follow up checks of their wounds, changes of dressings and skin grafting if necessary. In addition to emergency patients we have children that return for elective procedures to revise scars in order to improve limb functionality and skin appearance. Working in theatre 9 will give you the opportunity to develop scrub and circulating skills in the treatment of burns both emergency and elective, to become competent with equipment needed for skin grafting and gain an understanding of the different types of dressings used.

Our expert theatre also support the plastics trauma list, helping to treat a wide variety of injuries most of which can be done on a day case basis. This is usually a fast paced list which gives new starters great opportunities to scrub for smaller cases. Our usual operating hours are 8-6 Monday to Friday and after hours we have an on call-rota to provide specialist burns cover to the department.

Our Oncology theatre is based within the Oncology Day-care department in the new Waterfall House building. We have three theatre lists per week for children and young people with known or suspected leukaemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and other cancers, plus bleeding and clotting disorders, to have diagnostic and therapeutic lumbar punctures and intrathecal chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirates and trephines under general anaesthetic.

Our oncology lists are a real MDT effort, made up of haematology/oncology doctors, oncology nurses and our own anaesthetic and recovery staff and we share our knowledge and expertise in team brief and debrief which enables us to appreciate each other’s perspective and communicate efficiently as a team.

We also have two retinoblastoma (RB) lists per week, a rare and sometimes heritable tumour of the retina, during which babies and young children from all over the UK are diagnosed and treated with laser, cryotherapy, intravitreal injections etc., as we are one of only a couple of specialist centres in the UK for this cancer. For these lists, our anaesthetic and recovery staff work alongside our expert ophthalmologists and eye theatre support workers, the specialist RB sister and orthoptist, and this eye team also liaise with an oncologist and geneticist at a weekly MDT meeting.

On both theatre lists, we see the same children and their families many times over several years and we do have many heart-warming happy outcomes!

The staff in theatres and recovery have a great working relationship. Our multi-disciplinary team consists of Theatre practitioners, nurses, and support workers and are dedicated to the service we give to our patients. Recovery is a dynamic environment that looks after a wide range of patients post-surgery and deal with any potential post-surgical complications therefore, our staff requires a tremendous wealth of skills and knowledge to manage emergency situations with a calm and professional attitude.

We are compassionate in the care that we provide for our patients and families and look to inspire the student nurses and trainee practitioners of the future. Recovery is one of the most exciting places to work in at BWC.

We have an amazing opportunity for scrub, ODP and Health care support worker roles to join a specialised transplant team which is one of only three other hospitals in this country carrying out liver transplants on children and young people, with only one other hospital in the UK doing small bowel transplants.  Children and younger people are often referred to the Unit from all over the United Kingdom and beyond.

Giving the child and young person another chance at life is the most rewarding feeling and being a part of the child's hospital journey is very special.

We also do a wide range of liver procedures including hepatectomy, biliary atresia, splenectomies, laparotomies and vascular access insertion.  The service covers on-calls and weekends providing a 24/7 service. Theatre 4 also undertakes emergency surgery operating on very ill children who need lifesaving surgery. Joining the dynamic team you will gain knowledge and experience in working in a high pressure atmosphere whilst having a great sense of team spirit and togetherness, being able to think on your feet and respond to an often fast changing emergency environment.

“This is the place to be if you like a vast variety of specialities from laparoscopic to life-saving liver transplants. You will gain so much knowledge and gain so many skills. Your confidence will grow and you’ll become a part of our little family.”

Rachel Lomas – Theatre Support Worker, Theatre 4

There are many opportunities for registered and unregistered staff to develop their knowledge and skills.

We have an established Theatre Training and Education team to provide training and support. Theatre staff development is vital and is underpinned by a structured approach to training and development that will ensure that all staff will receive the right training and the right competence at the right time.

Here is an example of a clinical competency pathway;

The role of a Theatre Support Worker [pdf] 3MB

Assistant Theatre Practitioner (ATP’s) have a high level of skill and experience that they have gained through the 24 months on the job learning, alongside university training.

They are awarded a foundation degree in health and social care on completion; and will work as a band 4 surgical and recovery practitioner, where they will be able to scrub and assist in minor to moderate surgical and other procedures; and monitor 23 hour/ day case patients recovering from surgery under the supervision of registered practitioners.

ATP’s work within the framework of the assistant practitioner role; therefore are accountable for their own actions and are covered by the trust. This role is inclusive in all shift patterns throughout theatres, including out of hours working (weekend and late shifts etc.)

ATP’s are able to scrub for pre-planned, booked minor/moderate emergency cases, within their scope of practice, with the right support from registered staff members.

Band 2 (HSCW) – Band 5 (ODP) Progression Map

Theatre Resource & Technical Support Teams

On the Birmingham Children’s Hospital site we have an ever expanding Theatre Resource and Theatre Technical Support Teams. The aim of these teams is to support the Theatre staff in ensuring that we provide outstanding care to the children and young people using our service.

Roles within our teams;

Theatre Resource Workers (Band 2) & Senior Resource Worker (Band 3) – To ensure Surgical Instruments, specialised consumables and sterile linen is available for all operating lists and for each surgery lead by our Senior Resource Worker. They ensure that storerooms are well stocked in all theatre areas, and that clean & used surgical instruments are managed appropriately and in a timely fashion from not only theatres but other wards & departments across the site. They support the Theatre teams with queries and questions regarding instruments and consumables. The team works closely with the trusts Receipts & Distributions team and our offsite sterilization provider to achieve the shared goal.

Resource Supervisors (Band 4) – Our Resource Supervisors are responsible for placing Resource stock orders and specialized theatre orders on a daily basis. This included the whole process from raising orders, authorizing orders, chasing suppliers, receipting and payment. The supervisors also meant with company representatives to identify new products and better pricing to ensure the best quality of items available. The other half of their role is to ensure that we have the correct surgical instrumentation for any type of surgery that could be undertaken within our Theatre department. This included arranging specialized loan instruments for trauma patients or rare complex cases as they are required. Alongside this they line manage the Theatre Resource and Senior Resource Workers.

Resource Coordinator (Band 5) – Our Resource Coordinator role is to work with Theatre Teams and Clinical leads to identify advancements in surgical instruments requirements along with ensure that the instruments we use are safe and appropriate for use. They also work closely with are offsite sterilization provider to ensure Surgical instruments and managed, cleaned and cared for correctly. Alongside this they also line mange the Resource Supervisors and deputize for the Theatre Lead (Band 7).

Theatre Technical Support Practitioner (Band 5) – Our Theatre Technical Support Practitioner is a new and exciting role for the team whose main role is to manage the vast medical device assets owned by Theatres. They are available for in theatre support and teaching on all standard & specialized devices and manage the annual servicing & repairs are undertaken to ensure that the devices maintain in circulation. The Theatre Technical Support team roles are something we are actively looking to grow to meet the ever growing needs of the department.

Theatre Housekeeping Team

Our dedicated housekeeping team is a relatively new team to our Theatre department on the BC site. Our housekeeping team is currently a team of two staff who works over a 7 day period to ensure that all our corridor equipment, fire exits, coffee rooms and changing rooms are clean and tidy and are also responsible for ensure our water is safe for staff to drink and shower in. They also are now taking part in help our theatres clean up after annual Theatre maintenance.

There are five theatres at our Women's Hospital site that work seven days a week and 24 hours a day. These are split into:

Gynaecology theatres

There are two theatres situated on the fifth floor of the hospital. They run elective work from Monday to Friday and emergency work out of hours seven days a week.

We have specialists in oncology, urogynaecology, fertility and gynaecology that operate weekly on patients with a variety of conditions and co-morbidities. We are a specialist centre for laparoscopic surgery with expert surgeons that lecture all around the world. Our surgeons have pioneered treatments and procedures that have made huge differences to women’s healthcare.

Training is provided and supported within the three main areas of theatres; Anaesthetics, Surgery and Recovery, all of our qualified practitioners are required to maintain at least two skill sets. However, most are able to practice in all three areas of theatre work.

We manage and recruit a large number of student ODPs, nurses and ATPs that come to theatre for training. All of our staff are expected to mentor students and are supported through their mentorship qualification.

Obstetric Theatres

There are two theatres based in the delivery suite exclusively for maternity patients. These theatres work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We have approximately 8,500 deliveries each year and around 25% are via caesarean section. Women are also required to come to theatre for complications post-child birth which potentially are very serious.

Our foetal medicine team also carry out specialised surgery, within these theatres, on the foetus whilst still in the uterus.

Our emergency obstetric team are also on the cardiac arrest team and are required to attend emergency situations around the hospital site.

This can be a highly pressurised but rewarding environment where our expert team have to deal with time-critical situations, while maintaining the trust and rapport with patients and birth partners during a very vulnerable time and get to share the joys of child birth with them.

The Fertility Centre Theatre

There is one theatre in the Fertility Suit that forms part of the fertility pathway by conducting egg collections and embryo transfers.