Orthopaedic hospital's theatre expansion gives job opportunities across roles

An array of clinical roles will be showcased at the event at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen, near Oswestry, on Saturday, between 10am and 1pm.

Some of the most eye-catching vacancies are within the theatres team and associated clinal services, with the hospital having recently started a £10.3 million project to expand its existing theatre facilities.

The build, which is due for completion by the spring of 2024, will give the capacity to deliver an extra 1,200 surgical procedures a year – important as the hospital continues work to reduce the backlog of patients created by the coronavirus pandemic, and looks at ambitious growth plans over the coming years.

To staff the new facilities, the hospital is looking to recruit both nurses and operating department practitioners (ODPs) to work in its scrub, recovery and anaesthetic teams. There are also opportunities for theatre support workers.

Sam McIntosh, theatre services manager at hospital, said: “The building work we are doing will initially give us one new theatre, but this is just the start as we also have plans to add three further theatres over the next three years, as well as refurbishing four existing ones.

“It’s an exciting time for us, but clearly it is not a shiny new building that carries out the work – which is why the recruitment of new people to join our already outstanding team has to be the number one priority.

“We are recruiting right now for some really fantastic opportunities across our scrub, recovery and anaesthetic teams, so we would love to hear from nurses, ODPs and theatre support workers who would like to come and join us. That includes newly-qualified individuals and also experienced professionals who are looking for a return to the NHS or are interested in switching to a theatre role." Sam added: “The recruitment day on Saturday is a wonderful opportunity to come and talk to some of our existing team and find out a little more about what it is like to work here. We hope to welcome as many people as possible.

"The hospital is already the busiest centre for orthopaedic surgery in the whole of the UK. Before the pandemic, it was carrying out close to 11,000 surgical procedures per year – and the current expansion work will give it the capacity to get back to those levels and eventually move beyond them."

As well as the opportunities for theatre staff, there will also be ward teams on hand to meet registered nursing candidates. Members of the therapies team will also be available to talk to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and therapy support worker candidates.

Members of the pharmacy team are also taking part in the day, as they look to recruit new pharmacy and medicines management technicians; while there are also opportunities for orthotists.

The hospital will also be hoping to welcome students looking for their first substantive post, and candidates who may have left the NHS but are now looking to return to practice.

Potential candidates can find out more by visiting rjah.nhs.uk/work-with-us