We use cookies to personalize content and to analyze our traffic. Please decide if you are willing to accept cookies from our website.

The National Operating Theatres Show 2026

The Kia Oval, London 10 March 2026, 9:00am - 4:00pm

CPD accredited by IGPP badge
8:30am
Registration & Networking
9:30am
Chairs Opening Address
Jennifer Maher, Education Lead, The Association for Perioperative Practice
9:40am
Session Reserved for Ankur Mukherjee, Consultant Urological Surgeon (Robotics), Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Ankur Mukherjee, Consultant Urological Surgeon (Robotics), Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
10:00am
Safety in Surgery 2026: From Frameworks to Flourishing
  • Describe the evolving landscape of surgical safety through the lens of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and NatSSIPs2, and how these national frameworks can connect safety science with day-to-day practice
  • Apply systems thinking and human factors principles to identify risks, strengthen teamwork, and design safer, more resilient surgical systems
  • Evaluate how restorative just culture approaches can enhance staff wellbeing, learning, and improvement in perioperative settings
  • Explore data-driven strategies for measuring safety culture and improvement impact
  • Commit to practical next steps for embedding sustainable, learning-focused safety culture within their own surgical services and organisations
Annie Hunningher, Consultant Anaesthetist, Barts Health NHS Trust
10:20am
Stryker Surgical Technologies: Journey to Zero

Diggy Bird, Sales Business Manager, Stryker

Charlie Davies, Territory Sales Manager, Stryker

  • Understand current concerns with fluid waste and surgical smoke
  • Evolution and innovation from Stryker
  • Overview of current clinical evidence and case study
Click here to veiw speakers
10:40am
Questions & Answers Session
11:00am
Break & Networking
11:30am
Transforming Surgical Pathways: Minimally Invasive Approaches and Improving Flow from Community to Theatres
  • How minimally invasive surgery is changing theatre demands
  • The role of pre- and post-operative community pathways
  • Improving turnover and reducing delays


Colin Elton, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, Royal Free Hospitals NHS Trust
11:50am
Overcoming Barriers to your day case pathway
  • Understand the end-to-end surgical pathway and its impact on patient outcomes 
  • Identify best-practice interventions that support safe and effective same-day surgery 
  • Evaluate how pathway redesign can drive efficiency and capacity across surgical services
Karen Harries, President, British Association of Day Surgery
12:10pm
From Storeroom to Surgery: The Reality of Point-of-Care Deployment in NHS Theatres

Ish Ahmed, Surgeon & Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Associate - Clinical Advisor, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Marc Saaimon, Head of Procurement, South Tees NHS Foundation Trust

James Berzins, CEO, CareScan


Digitising operating theatres is a strategic priority across the NHS, yet successful implementation depends on more than technology procurement. In this practical panel discussion, Ish Ahmed, Surgeon and GIRFT Lead, North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust; Marc Saaimon, Head of Procurement, South Tees NHS Foundation Trust; and James Berzins, CEO, CareScan, share real-world experiences of deploying digital theatre solutions in today’s hospitals. 
This session brings together clinical, financial and operational perspectives to explore what truly drives successful rollout of point-of-care and inventory management systems. Speakers will explore clinical adoption, procurement challenges, workflow redesign, data standards such as GS1, and how digital solutions such as CareScan drive productivity andcompliance with safety alerts, traceability, and cost savings.
This session focuses on implementation reality: what worked, what didn’t, and what Trusts wish they’d known earlier. Attendees will gain honest lessons, implementation tips, and practical insight into delivering safer, more efficient theatre operations. 

  • Discover what it really takes to implement point-of-care and inventory management systems in live operating theatre environments, from clinical engagement to procurement and operational change. 
  • Learn how NHS Trusts have overcome common barriers to adoption, including workflow disruption, staff buy-in and system integration. 
  • See how real-time product traceability and digital workflows can strengthen patient safety, regulatory compliance and theatre efficiency. 
  • Take away practical lessons and proven approaches to support planning, procurement or optimisation of theatre digital systems in their own organisation. 


Click here to veiw speakers
12:30pm
Questions & Answers Session
12:50pm
Lunch & Networking
1:50pm
Panel Discussion: Driving Digital and Data-Enabled Theatre Performance: Lessons from London at Scale

James Friend, Director of Digital Strategy, NHS England – London Region

Bruno Botelho, Director of Digital Operations and Innovation, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Ian Frost, Deputy Director, Innovation and Digital Transformation, South West London Integrated Care System

This panel will explore how London NHS is using digital tools and data-driven insights to improve operating theatre utilisation, patient flow and elective performance at scale. From the shift from analogue to digital pathways, including the use of the NHS App for pre-operative assessment and appointment management – to advanced data and intelligent operating room solutions supporting capacity management and on-the-day flow, panellists will share real-world lessons from implementation across busy acute systems. The discussion will focus on what has worked, the challenges encountered, and what other Trusts and systems can realistically replicate to drive sustainable theatre improvement.

Click here to view speakers
2:15pm
The Culture We Create - Using the AfPP Behaviours Charter to Build Safer Teams

The AfPP Behaviours Charter sets out the professional values that underpin safe, respectful, and collaborative perioperative practice. This session explores what the Charter is, why behaviour is a patient-safety issue, and how positive team behaviours improve staff wellbeing and patient outcomes. We will share practical ways to embed the Charter into everyday theatre practice so it becomes a lived standard, not just words on a wall.

  • Describe the purpose and key principles of the AfPP Behaviours Charter.
  • Explain how positive perioperative behaviours support patient safety and staff wellbeing.
  • Identify practical strategies to embed the Charter into daily theatre practice.
Jennifer Maher, Education Lead, The Association for Perioperative Practice
2:40pm
Break & Networking
3:10pm
Optimising Pre-Operative Pathways: Clinically Led Redesign and the Role of AI in Theatre Efficiency

John Jeans, Practicing Consultant Anaesthetist and National Lead, the National CLEAR Programme, 33n

Toni Bell, Lead Preoperative Assessment Nurse, East Lancashire Teaching Hospital

  • Understand how clinically led, data-driven approaches can be applied to redesign pre-operative pathways to improve theatre utilisation and patient flow

  • Explore the role of AI and digital tools in pre-operative assessment, risk stratification, scheduling and capacity planning

  • Identify practical ways to engage clinicians in pre-op service redesign while addressing workforce pressures and variability in demand  

Click here to view speakers
3:30pm
From Pilot to Practice: Scaling Digital Innovation Safely in Operating Theatres
  • Identify why many digital pilots fail to scale in theatre environments and how to avoid common pitfalls

  • Learn how trusts can evaluate, govern and scale digital innovations while maintaining patient safety and clinical confidence

  • Understand the role of clinical leadership in bridging innovation, informatics and frontline delivery

Piyush Mahapatra, Digital and Innovation lead for Surgery, Anaesthetics and Cancer West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
3:50pm
Chairs Closing Remarks
Jennifer Maher, Education Lead, The Association for Perioperative Practice
4:00pm
Close

Unsupported Browser

The web browser you are using to access this website is unsupported, which means certain aspects of the site wont work properly.

To use the website we recommend upgrading to a modern web browser such as Edge, Safari, Chrome, or Firefox if possible.

Proceed anyway (not recommended)