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This conference focuses on Prehabilitation – Principles and Practice, and will provide a practical guide to delivering an effective prehabilitation programme, ensuring patients are fit and optimised for surgery/treatment. This is even more important in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns which have had a negative effect on many individual’s health and fitness levels, and currently high waiting lists could be used as preparation time to ensure the best outcomes. The conference will look at preoperative/pre treatment optimisation of patients fitness and wellbeing through exercise, nutrition and psychological support.
“With NHS surgical waiting lists now standing at a record 4.6 million, it is not surprising that accelerating te restoration of elective care is one of the priorities….We think “doing things differently” must include changing the narrative of the waiting period. We must get better at supporting patients who are waiting for their surgery to be ready for the NHS when the NHS is ready for them. And, in turn, we need to support healthcare teams to be ready for the patient. Or as colleagues have put it, we need to turn “waiting lists” into “preparation lists…. Patients most at risk of adverse outcomes are older, multimorbid, and frail, or smoke, drink excess alcohol or have low or high body mass index and lead sedentary lives. This is a growing population and it makes sense to use the waiting period proactively to address these risk factors: optimise underlying health conditions, and encourage and provide exercise and psychological interventions, address smoking and alcohol use, and work towards a healthy weight. Various approaches to “prehabilitation” encompassing some or all of these factors have been shown to reduce postoperative complications by between 30%-80% and reduce hospital stays by one-two days on average. A number of studies have also shown there to be a reduction in postoperative mortality rates. Additionally, prehabilitation provides an opportunity to support and embed behaviour change which should provide long term health benefit.”
“Last minute cancellations for health reasons are not only a major source of frustration and anxiety for patients, but cost the NHS and taxpayers, so it’s absolutely right that we help people to get fighting fit for surgery. "
This conference will enable you to:
- Network with colleagues who are working to deliver effective prehabilitation for surgery/treatment
- Reflect on a patient lived experience to understand how to engage patients in prehab programmes
- Learn from outstanding practice in implementing a prehabilitation programme
- Embed virtual prehabilitation into your programme during and beyond Covid-19
- Demonstrate a business case for prehabilitation and ensure prehab services continue through and beyond the pandemic
- Reflect on national developments and learning
- Improve the way we support patients to prepare themselves, physically and emotionally for surgery/treatment
- Develop your skills in Behaviour Change and Motivational Interviewing
- Embed virtual prehabilitation into your programme during and beyond Covid-19
- Learn from case studies
- Understand how you can improve emotional and psychological support
- Explore the role of prehabilitation in older people
- Work with patients to improve nutrition
- Ensure you are up to date with the latest evidence
- Self assess and reflect on your own practice
- Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
