Prehabilitation is the practice of enhancing a patient’s functional capacity before surgery, with the aim of making long-term positive behavioural changes. Prehabilitation has shown improvements in length of stay, post-operative pain, and complications. Using a personalised care approach, we identify what is important to the patient and use it to motivate and empower behaviour change, reduce HbA1c, weight and improve health and wellbeing. The service’s aim is to reduce the risk of having surgery postponed, which could be due to high HbA1c or high BMI.

How do we do it?

We offer a tailored health and wellbeing scheme delivered by a team of health professionals and a Diabetic Specialist Nurse who help those to physically and mentally prepare for surgery through lifestyle support and medication management/optimisation.

This is a community led model working in collaboration with Wirral University Hospital Trust, Wirral GP Practices, community organisations, Wirral Library Services and Wirral Leisure Services. Like our Cancer Prehabilitation programme, this service is also tailored and personalised to the individual based off their needs and interests.