Youngsters were invited inside a hospital's surgical theatre.

Macclesfield District General Hospital hosted an interactive open day as part of National Operating Department Practitioners' Day.

It gave children of staff members a chance to meet surgeons, dress up in surgical gowns and practice on a resuscitation doll.

Vicky Jackson, practice development facilitator, said: "All in all it was a successful day for everyone. 

"The volunteer theatre staff, Sharon, Sam, Mike, Nat, Nitika, Jacqui and Amrit were amazing and worked really hard to make it such a good experience for the children. 

 "But we also had help from Mathilde, a student physiologist and our enthusiastic work experience students Adam and Lucy, who all also wanted to get involved." 

Youngsters tried their hand at laparoscopic surgery (Credit: ECNHST)

Visitors first got to meet Molly the surgeon and a Pets As Therapy dog.

They then had to dress in surgical gowns or scrubs and take part in activities such as handwashing, airway management of a dummy and laparoscopic challenges, with some of the older children even taught how to suture.

There were also stations for wound dressings, CPR practice and AED (automated external defibrillator) awareness.

As well as having fun, the day provided a chance to celebrate the role of operating department practitioners and to promote the profession.

Work experience opportunities are available with East Cheshire NHS Trust, who were recently awarded the Gold Quality Standard for work experience from NHS England.

The trust can support local students in Year 11 upwards and have dedicated work experience weeks in October and February half term holidays for students in Year 10 and above. 

Anyone interested in work experience from September onwards is asked to get in touch via the Vocational Learning and Development Team by emailing [email protected].