The Annual Operating Theatres Show 2026
Etihad Stadium, Manchester 10 September 2026, 9:00am - 4:30pm
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8:30am
Registration & Networking
9:30am
Chairs Opening Remarks
Mark Rigby, Head of Theatre Services, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
9:40am
Delivering Elective Recovery: The National Direction for Operating Theatres
- Understand national NHS priorities for elective recovery and theatre utilisation
- Explore how surgical hubs are reshaping operating theatre delivery
- Identify expectations for trusts around productivity, access and patient outcomes
10:00am
Life Inside a Surgical Hub: Delivering High-Volume Elective Care
This session will explore the real-world experience of operating surgical hubs across the NHS. Members will discuss implementation challenges, workforce adaptation, theatre scheduling, patient flow, and lessons learned from scaling elective care delivery. The discussion will focus on practical insights trusts can apply when developing or expanding hub models.
10:20am
Main Stage Sponser Speaking Session
10:40am
Question & Answers Session
11:00am
Break & Networking
11:30am
What Good Looks Like: Reducing Variation and Improving Theatre Performance
- Understand national benchmarking data for theatre productivity
- Learn how GIRFT recommendations are being implemented locally
- Identify practical approaches to improving efficiency without compromising safety
12:10pm
Case Study: Transforming Theatre Productivity: A Trust-Level Success Story
- Understand how theatre efficiency programmes are implemented locally
- Learn measurable approaches to reducing cancellations and downtime
- Explore cultural and leadership changes required for sustained improvement
12:35pm
Main Stage Sponser Speaking Session
1:00pm
Lunch & Networking
2:00pm
Main Stage Sponser Speaking Session
2:20pm
The Perioperative Pathway: Improving Outcomes Beyond the Operating Theatre
- Understand the role of perioperative care in improving surgical outcomes
- Explore multidisciplinary approaches to patient optimisation
- Identify strategies to reduce complications and length of stay
2:40pm
Session Reserved for John Jeans & Toni Bell
3:00pm
Question & Answers Session
3:20pm
Break & Networking
3:50pm
The Future Theatre Workforce: Skills, Retention and Professional Practice
- Understand workforce pressures impacting operating theatres
- Explore professional development pathways within perioperative practice
- Identify strategies to support retention and staff wellbeing
4:10pm
Flow, Fatigue, and the Frontline: Redesigning Theatres for Staff Resilience
- How better scheduling reduces the "moral injury" of on-the-day cancellations for staff and patients
- changes to theatre rest areas, hydration access, and "Calm Rooms" that actually work
- Moving from a "blame culture" to a "learning culture" after Never Events or complications
4:30pm
Chairs Final Remarks and Close
Mark Rigby, Head of Theatre Services, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust