Oliver Tierney, the new President of The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), has stepped into the role with a clear vision: to influence positive change in healthcare and safety in hospital operating theatres for staff and patients.

A passionate and dedicated educator driven by a deep knowledge and understanding of human factors, Oliver is delighted to become the new AfPP President, and to have an opportunity to “affect real change”.

Oliver, who has worked in healthcare since 1999, and is now the Clinical Lead for Education, Risk and Governance at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust and Charity in Fazakerley, Liverpool, says while he still loves what he does, there are serious issues that need tackling.

Oliver says that staff are “under increasing pressure in the NHS, and it’s a numbers game now.”

He asks: “Are we cutting corners on safety and pushing staff too hard?”.

He says that budgets have been stripped right back, there is little money available for the professional development of staff, “all student bursaries have been cancelled, there has been no investment in community and social care, and all of this is short-sighted”.

“After Covid a lot of people working in healthcare threw in the towel, and now instead of patients in corridors we see patients waiting in ambulances,” said Oliver.

“Staff and patients are real people, and this needs to be fully recognised and addressed.”

Oliver has just started his two-year AfPP Presidency and has wasted no time in getting fully ensconced in the role.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be AfPP President and I am excited to get involved at a national level, and my aim is to make a difference.”

Oliver started his healthcare career at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. He has his mother to thank for this, as when he took a gap-year job after his A levels at a local go kart centre, she had other ideas and secured him a job as a healthcare assistant.

“Mother Tierney had other ideas for me, and becoming an operating theatre healthcare assistant is the best thing that ever happened to me,” recalls Oliver.

After doing a couple of years of nursing training, Oliver decided it wasn’t for him, training instead as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) at Edge Hill University.

After qualifying, Oliver worked at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital as an ODP, before moving to The Walton Centre in 2013.

He became a Band 6 Clinical Skills Facilitator in 2015 and then a Band 7 Practice Education Facilitator in 2017. He has been in his current role as Lead for Education, Risk and Governance since May 2022.

He won The Walton Centre “Best Contribution to Education” Award in 2016, and in 2019 was part of the team to win the AfPP Team of the Year Award for Innovation at The Walton Centre for The Walton Surgical Assistant Project; a project that involved developing and implementing a role with Band 6 ODPs around surgical skills.

Recently, Oliver has become an accredited Mental Health First Aider and from this set up the Walton Theatre Health and Wellbeing team.

His devotion to education shows as he speaks of how The Walton Centre has established for itself of turning around so called “failing” students.

“We are proud of the support we give to these students, and the time we spend with them. We get a lot of satisfaction when these students qualify and go on to have great careers. Many keep in touch, which is fabulous.”

Oliver is a huge advocate for looking out for each other and finds human factors a fascinating area.

“My view is that it’s often the system that leads to staff making errors, and while it’s easy to apply blame, this doesn’t make it safe. We need to look at the systems, and this takes time.”

In his hospital role Oliver enjoys reviewing and analysing incidents and developing safer systems.

His insistence on looking out for each other is also, he says, because he himself suffers from depression, and knows how important it is to seek support when you need it, “to never suffer in silence”.

“I am passionate about acknowledging and raising awareness about mental health, and this was the reason I set up the Walton Theatre Health and Wellbeing Team. People need to be able to talk about their feelings and concerns in a safe environment. We are all human beings, and working in hospital theatres is a challenging job.”

Oliver says he first became involved with AfPP many years ago, when, as an ODP, he experienced first-hand how supportive the Association is.

“AfPP has always been a huge support to me and my colleagues throughout my career in healthcare, and we simply would not have achieved the success with The Walton Surgical Assistant Project, for instance, without the help and guidance of AfPP.

“As a member, I soon realised that I wanted to become more involved with AfPP and the next time a trustee role was advertised, I applied and was successful in joining the board. I’m delighted that I’m now the President.

“It’s a big role, with lots of responsibility, but what it gives me is an opportunity to make real change nationally, and internationally.”

Oliver will be on the international stage in April, when he represents AfPP at The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Global Surgical Conference and Expo in Boston and is hoping to travel to Sri Lanka with a group of healthcare professionals looking to assist developing healthcare systems in September. Next year he will be attending the AORN event in New Orleans.

Outside work and AfPP, Oliver enjoys spending time with family. He has just moved house to Wallasey, and to relax he enjoys walking and spending time at the pub. He’s also a singer in a band called ‘The Waltonians’ made up of colleagues from The Walton Centre.

“I really could not ask for more in terms of my life and career; I feel lucky to be doing something I am passionate about.”

He says if he could offer any advice, it would be to “keep trying, move out of your comfort zone, and take a leap of faith sometimes”.

“Years ago, I would not have ever imagined myself in my current healthcare role, or as the new AfPP President, and if not for my mother’s intervention back when I was a teenager I could still be working at the go kart track, which incidentally is still there!

“I have hit the ground running as the new AfPP President, and I am so looking forward to the next two years!”

Picture shows Oliver.