Unlocking Potential: Operating Department Practitioners in a new era of enhanced clinical practice

Head of Allied Health Professions, Workforce, Training & Education

Claire is a Chartered Physiotherapist, with 33 years experience of clinical and professional leadership within the NHS and arm’s length bodies in England. She has a Masters Degree in Health Science, is a King’s Fund Top Managers programme alumni and is a Platinum level certified leader in LEAN, quality improvement methodology.

She has worked for NHS England both regionally and in her current role of Head of Allied Health Professions for workforce, training and education.

Previous experience includes strategic and professional AHP leadership and general management within Acute & Community NHS Trusts and a clinical background within the field of complex neurological rehabilitation.

Nationally, Claire has been the AHP lead for Enhanced Practice, delivering the commission and publication of the NHS England AHP Enhanced Practice schema and model curricula. Currently, this is aligned to embedding the Enhanced Practice Apprenticeship as a mechanism to provide accredited training and upskill the workforce across the NHS.

Clinical Patient Safety and Quality Lead for the Association of Perioperative Practice (AfPP)

Lindsay Keeley, RN, BSc (Hons), is the Clinical Patient Safety and Quality Lead for the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), where she plays a strategic role in advancing perioperative safety, quality, and professional standards across the UK. She supports perioperative practitioners through AfPP’s Professional Advice Service, providing expert, evidence-informed guidance on complex clinical and professional issues.

A Registered Nurse with extensive experience across NHS and Independent surgical settings, Lindsay is widely recognised for her expertise in infection prevention, surgical fire safety, surgical plume, and system-based approaches to reducing harm. She works nationally with NHS England and partners to co-produce patient safety tools, including the HSJ Bronze award-winning Skin Preparation Decision Tool. A published author and experienced keynote speaker, Lindsay is passionate about unlocking the potential of the perioperative workforce.

Associate Dean for Global Engagement and Internationalisation for the School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health

Luke qualified as an Operating Department Practitioner (then ODA) in 1988 and continued to gain clinical experience, mainly in anaesthetics and post-anaesthetic care. He joined Canterbury Christ Church University in 2001 and was the ODP course director from 2003 to 2024. During this time, he developed, wrote and validated several iterations of the BSc (Hons) in Operating Department Practice and also the apprenticeship. Luke became the Allied and Public Health Professions school director for research and scholarship from 2021 – 2024 and is now the Associate Dean for Global Engagement and Internationalisation for the school of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health. Luke regularly contributes to the work of the HCPC as a lead education visitor and, prior to that, as a fitness to practise partner. Luke's research activities focus on the cultures of health care work and on understanding patients’ experiences of undergoing surgery. Luke is the Principal Investigator for the NHS England-funded ODP SURGE project, alongside his colleague, Professor John Hammond. He is also a senior fellow of the Health Education Academy.