The lesser-known prehabilitation method could help cut NHS waiting times, improve patient outcomes from surgery and treatment and reduce recovery time. The only caveat is it needs to be started days or even weeks before going into the hospital.
Professor Tara Rampal, founder of QuestPrehab, explained prehab: “Traditionally, it consists of individualised prescription of exercise, nutrition and psychological, lifestyle modification interventions based on people’s individual needs, abilities, their medical conditions and planned treatment course.”
Essentially, prehab works to make you as strong and healthy as possible both physically, mentally and emotionally by putting in place programmes ahead of the medical procedure. This is very personalised so some may find their prehab is giving up smoking while others may want to have a more balanced diet or strengthen their mental resolve.
While it’s a relatively new concept in the medical field, prehab is quickly gaining scientific recognition as a study published in the BMJ this week highlighted it “could be considered in clinical care”. Professor Rampal also hopes it will become more widely available on the NHS as it could deliver one of Labour’s key promises; cutting down waiting times.
Getting your body into tip top shape before heading for medical procedures can help people recover quicker, therefore getting them out of hospital sooner, increasing available beds and hospital efficiency. Additionally, better physical and nutritional health lowers the risks of post-surgery complications like infections as well as improving how people react to medical stressors like recovery.
The professor concluded: “By reducing complications, shortening hospital stays, and lowering readmission rates, prehabilitation leads to significant cost savings.” QuestPrehab is unique in its online offerings so patients could even complete their prehab program at home without the need for hospital rooms or NHS staff, while also providing access to people who would otherwise not be able to go through traditional prehab.
Professor Rampal said there were “several factors” that meant it is not nearly as well known or used as post-surgery rehabilitation? She said: “Healthcare systems and pathways are usually built around management of disease with a focus on acute and reactive care rather than proactive, preventive programmes like prehab. Because prehab is a preventative strategy, it’s difficult to either attribute a cost to a something that didn’t happen, for example, preventing a post-operative complication.”