Prehabilitation before surgery with our Get Set 4 Surgery programme

Welcome to our information pages on prehabilitation at St Georges.

Prehabilitation is all about good preparation for your body and mind prior to surgery.  In the time before your surgery, you can take simple steps to improve your physical and mental health.  This will reduce your risk of complications and improve your wellbeing now and in your recovery.

We are running our weekly classes live online, via Microsoft Teams, or face-to-face.  Please speak to your clinical team to be invited to one of our sessions, or email us : surgeryschool@stgeorges.nhs.uk

We have put together some resources to help you make the most of the time you are waiting for your surgery.  You can use this time to improve your health and wellbeing, so your surgical recovery is better- think of it as preparation time rather than waiting time.

Meet the founding St Georges Get Set 4 Surgery team: We are a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals working to provide you with the best advice on how to prepare for your upcoming surgery: (L-R) Nosheen Qadoos, Tanya Pendleton, Sahil Suleman, John Da Costa, Puneet Ranote, Marion Beer, Katie Bluer, Carolyn Johnston

Watch our video introducing the Get Set 4 Surgery session, with advice on prehabilitation- taking simple steps before surgery to improve your recovery:

Prehabilitation: Simple steps to avoid complications

• Improve your diet: Eating a varied diet, rich in fruit and vegetables means you will have all the nutrients you need to heal after your surgery. Aim for a normal body weight.
• Cut down or stop drinking alcohol: Drinking more than 4 units per day (equivalent to 2 pints of beer or large glasses of wine) doubles your risk of complications after surgery.  Cutting down on alcohol will improve the health of your liver, which is vital for healing after surgery.
• Smoking: this will dramatically reduce your risk of chest infection and other complications. The hospital ‘stop smoking’ service can help you, click here for more details.
• Increase your activity levels: this will help you to eat better, sleep better and improve your general wellbeing. In addition, this will ensure your heart and lungs are fitter for anaesthesia and surgery.

Start today, and do something you enjoy.  For instance, try walking, gardening or even exercising within your own home using your furniture or stairs.

Something is better than nothing.  Every change you make today has the potential to improve your recovery after surgery.

Watch our 10 minute video from the Get Set 4 Surgery team on improving your diet before surgery and tips on reducing your alcohol intake:

Watch our 7 minute video on increasing your activity levels before surgery:

The NHS Fitness studio website has 24 instructor led online videos for a range of fitness levels.  High Interval Intensity Training (HIITs) is short bursts of vigorous exercise, and thought to be particularly helpful before surgery.  There are examples of 10-minute cardio exercise plans in the NHS fitness Studio

The free NHS Active 10 smartphone app can help set and track simple activity goals.

The free NHS One You smartphone app can help you to with a better diet and drink less alcohol.