THE only course for training much-needed hospital theatre staff in Scotland is threatened with closure at a time when hundreds of operations a month are cancelled due to capacity shortages.

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) says the professionals, who help prepare patients for surgery, hand equipment to surgeons and help bring patients round, are in high demand.

However, the university is considering axing the course after next year as part of a review which they say is driven by ensuring “academic coherence” and “research excellence”.

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They say they are in discussion with the Chief Nursing Officer at the Scottish Government about the proposal – but last night the Scottish Government insisted it was a matter for the university.

A petition calling to save the Operating Department Practice (ODP) course, promoted on the social media site Facebook, has attracted 760 signatures.

It says the course “is not sustainable on a financial level” and “does not receive any research grants”.

Other reasons given for the proposed closure are the lack of post graduate options in the field and the university research strategy currently being “focused on chronic, long-term conditions” while the ODP profession is directed mainly in an acute hospital setting.

However, the petition says the course supplies 20 graduates a year, “nowhere near the amount required to meet the demand and needs of peri-operative environments across NHS Scotland”.

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The petition continues: “We, the students, qualified ODPS, anaesthetists, staff nurses, theatre coordinators, surgeons and other members of the multi-disiplinary team want to the see the course continue. ODPs are valued members of the operating department and provide skilled support as anaesthetic assistants, scrub, circulating and recovery practitioners.

“Theatre departments across the country are constantly in need of ODPs to fill a large gap in resources.”

They call on the Scottish Government to save the course.

Some health boards have struggled to recruit nurses to do theatre jobs and creating alternative theatre assistants – such as ODPs – has been suggested as a solution.

One former graduate of the three-year degree programme, who is now working in a hospital, said her department was incredibly short-staffed and saw lists of patients cancelled as a result. The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “We know that’s five or six patients getting sent home because we do not have the staff to do the operation.”

NHS Scotland figures show hundreds of planned operations being cancelled every month due to capacity and other non-clinical issues. In September alone 618 procedures did not go ahead for these reasons, which are likely to include shortages of ward beds, theatre space and theatre staff.

The ODP graduate explained that nurses do not necessarily want to work in operating theatres, because they potentially lose their other skills, and ODPs are qualified to assist during surgery in multiple ways including supporting anaesthetists and monitoring recovery.

The ODP, who did not wish to be named, said of the proposal to close the course: “I just think it is a loss for the NHS.”

It is understood that students who completed the course in 2015 were the first to pass with degree qualifications and the proposals would mean those who start the course next autumn would be the last.

The university website says: “Operating Department Practitioners care for patients throughout their journey in the operating theatre. Known as ODPs, these specialised professionals are in high demand.”

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A GCU spokeswoman said: “Students on the ODP degree will continue to be supported and we have an intake in academic year 2017/18, who will graduate in 2020. This niche programme is being considered as part of the School of Health and Life Sciences review to ensure academic coherence, student experience and research excellence.

“We are in ongoing dialogue with representatives of the chief nursing officer at the Scottish Government in relation to the proposal.”