The National Performance Advisory Group (NPAG) will once again bring together senior NHS leaders, theatre managers, sterile services professionals and industry specialists for its annual Theatres & Decontamination Conference, taking place on 19 May 2026 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Stansted Airport.
Recognised for its strong professional credibility, sector‑wide collaboration and CPD‑certified learning, the event has become an essential date in the national perioperative and decontamination calendar.
NPAG brings theatres and decontamination into one shared forum. As surgical care becomes increasingly complex, with robotics, 3D printing, advanced instruments and digital pathways expanding rapidly, the interface between theatres and decontamination has never been more critical. NPAG’s conference directly reflects this reality.
NPAG is a long‑established national organisation supporting improvement and operational excellence across the NHS. Through its extensive portfolio of Best Value Groups (BVGs) including Operating Theatres, Decontamination, National District Nurses, Estates, Waste Management, Energy, Clinical Engineering, Temporary Workforce and Violence Reduction — NPAG enables professionals to benchmark, collaborate and share solutions across organisations and systems.
This collaborative structure ensures NPAG’s annual conferences are not simply events: they are the output of active national networks, with agendas shaped by members’ real operational needs and priorities. This is particularly true of the Theatres & Decontamination Conference, where representatives from both BVGs work with NPAG facilitators to co‑design the programme.
Conference chairs
This year’s conference is chaired by Trevor Garcia and Dale Atkins, who have overseen the agenda development in partnership with NPAG’s Operating Theatres and Decontamination BVGs. Their leadership has ensured a balanced, relevant and forward‑looking programme. They will guide the day’s discussion, drawing out practical learning and highlighting the importance of shared responsibility across surgical pathways.
Theatres and decontamination services are fundamental to elective recovery, surgical efficiency and patient safety. Both are under sustained pressure: workforce gaps, rising procedural complexity, tightening regulatory requirements and the introduction of new technologies all require coordinated thinking and integrated service design.
This year’s themes reflect current pressures and opportunities facing services today, providing vital grounding for delegates and ensuring relevance across clinical, technical and managerial roles.
Key themes include:
- The critical value of collaboration between theatres and decontamination
- The influence of Community Diagnostic Centres on surgical flow
- The safe expansion of robotics and new instrument types
- Ensuring assurance and compliance amid evolving standards
- Strengthening cost‑efficiency and sustainability through Design for Life
- Standardisation and governance under NHS Supply Chain leadership
Keynote: The Importance of a Collaborative Day
Delivered by Professor Tim Briggs, the keynote will set the national context for the day. It will reinforce the value of cross‑service collaboration and highlights how perioperative and decontamination services must work together to support surgical recovery and productivity.
Effectiveness of Digital vs Face‑to‑Face Pre‑Operative Assessment
Ajay Sooknah, Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, will explore the comparative effectiveness of digital and face‑to‑face pre‑operative assessment models. Delegates gain practical insight into ePOA adoption, patient experience, and operational efficiency.
3D Printing: Developing Bespoke Implantable Medical Devices
Martin Kirk will examine the expanding potential of bespoke 3D‑printed implants and the downstream impact on theatre and decontamination workflows, including instrument design, cleaning considerations and traceability.
Robotics in Practice: Building a Collaborative Programme for Today and Tomorrow
Presented by Lee Clark, Senior Engineer in Device Decontamination, and Stuart Duncan, Healthcare Consultant in Robotic‑Assisted Surgery, this session will explore how robotics is reshaping surgical pathways. With robotics now embedded in many Trusts, understanding equipment compatibility, tray design and decontamination requirements is crucial.
Decontamination & Sterilisation — The Future and the Role of NHS Supply Chain
This multi‑speaker session will bring together experts from NHS Supply Chain Andrew Mitchell, Ian Dodd, and Sarah Duff, to discuss standardisation, governance, strategic procurement and future‑proofing decontamination services.
Panel Discussion: Design for Life, Innovation and NHS Supply Chain Implications
Featuring a member from the Decontamination BVG, Sean Allison (Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust), a Design for Life representative and Ian Dodd, this panel addresses shared operational challenges, theatre–decontamination collaboration, purchasing governance, tray optimisation and the evolving role of instrument coordinators.
The agenda concludes with a Chairmen’s summary, reflecting on key insights and highlighting practical actions for teams to take back to their Trusts.
For further information, email: info@npag.eastamb.nhs.uk
Web: https://www.npag.org.uk/theatres-and-decontamination-conference-2026
