About Us
AfPP is the UK’s leading membership organisation for perioperative professionals, dedicated to theatre practitioners and improving perioperative care.
As an independent charity funded by our members, we are proud that every membership subscription directly supports our work to develop and promote standards for perioperative practice, share knowledge and expertise, support practitioners and champion perioperative excellence.
Whether you are a student, a newly qualified practitioner, experienced practitioner or theatre manage, AfPP is here to support you throughout your perioperative career. Our members are at the heart of everything we do, and we are committed to helping you become the best practitioner you can be.
AfPP works to encourage collaboration and the exchange of professional information between members and works closely with other professional bodies. These include the Centre for Perioperative Care Collaborative (CPOC), the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh Faculty of Perioperative Care (FPC), the Perioperative Care Collaboration (PCC), SAFE OR, OneTogether, the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses (IFPN), the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA).
AfPP Vision
AfPP Mission
AfPP Purpose
AfPP Values
Our Vision to lead perioperative excellence underpins our commitment to supporting safer surgery and better patient care and to enabling our members to become the best practitioners they can.
Our Mission is to improve patient care through constantly developing and promoting the leading standards for perioperative practice and practitioners.
Our Purpose – AfPP exists to advance health by improving patient care in perioperative practice by:
- Determining standards and promoting best practice
- Facilitating education and practice development
- Providing professional support services
- Providing a forum for partnership with industry
- Shaping healthcare policy
Our Values – shape our work and guide our decisions:
We put the public benefit first
We are proud of our charitable status and our work supports the charitable object.
We put our members at the heart of what we do
We are nothing without our members. Everything we do has a member perspective.
We disseminate learning
We continue to be one of the world’s leading authorities on perioperative best practice. We are a learning organisation with education at our core.
We act with integrity
We always act in good faith treating others as we wish to be treated. We are open, honest and trustworthy in all our dealings.
We are a commercial organisation
To deliver sustainable excellence we must run our organisation at the highest level of business and professional standards.
We are a people organisation
We value all our people equally, always treating them with respect, fairness and openness.
We are a quality organisation
We are demanding of high standards. Right first time is our minimum requirement.
Trusted by Perioperative Professionals for more than 60 years
The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) was founded by Daisy Ayris in 1964 as the National Association of Theatre Nurses (NATN),
The inaugural meeting was held at St James’ University Hospital on May 30, 1964, and was attended by six theatre nurses’ clubs. A year later, the first official congress took place at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate. In true AfPP spirit, Daisy provided gin and whiskey from the boot of her car so that members didn’t have to pay large drinks bills at the hotel bar!
In April 2005 NATN changed its name to The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP). It also changed its structures and systems to reflect the significant changes taking place across healthcare and the wider perioperative environment, and to recognise the growing numbers of Operating Department Practitioners and Healthcare Support Workers who had not previously been eligible for full membership.
Sixty years later, AfPP has grown to over 6000 members and has supported thousands of perioperative professionals to develop their careers and raise standards in the ever-changing theatre environment.
Daisy Ayris
