YORK St John University has joined forces with York Hospital to get patients as fit as possible before they undergo major surgery through a new 'prehab' service.

The prehabilitation service will help to reduce the risks associated with operations such as hernia surgery, maximise the chances of favourable outcomes and even help reduce waiting times.

The unique collaboration between the university and the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will see exercise and dietary advice offered alongside input from anaesthetists and surgeons. 

A spokesperson said patients awaiting complex abdominal wall surgery will attend a six-week multi-disciplinary prehab programme run by the YSJActive team at the state-of-the-art York St John University Sports Park. 

"Patients will receive input from a range of disciplines, including exercise practitioner, exercise physiologist, dietician, anaesthetist, and surgeon," they said, adding that doctors at the trust had been involved in research projects looking at the effect of prehabilitation for many years.

"Getting fit for surgery associated with better outcomes and faster recovery times," they said. 

Dr David Yates, consultant anaesthetist, said he hoped the new service would help patients waiting for surgery for complex abdominal wall hernias to get fitter and stronger before their op.

"Hernias occur when an organ or fatty tissue squeezes through a weak spot in a surrounding muscle or connective tissue," he said.   

"We know that fitter patients recover more quickly and more completely after major surgery and this service has been co-designed with patients to allow them to do just that.

“It's one thing being told by a surgeon or anaesthetist that you need to get fitter, lighter, healthier before surgery but we all know it's another thing actually doing it!

"This service will help patients to take some control of their own treatment and surgical outcome and put themselves in the best possible position to have their procedure.”

Andrew Hill, Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at York St John University, said he was 'really excited' about the collaboration with the trust.

"The service will be a focus for research collaboration and funding, and eventually offer opportunities for practical student and staff involvement," he said.

"We hope that our partnership with the trust will continue to blossom, and we can expand our services in the future.”    

Becky Barrett, head of YSJActive, said it was continually looking for new ways to use physical activity to support communities, and she was delighted to collaborate in this unique way.

"This service, with the exercise programme that we’ll provide, should be of real benefit to many patients awaiting complex surgery," she said. "In turn, this will reduce waiting times and help the recovery process.”  

For more information about YSJActive, go to www.yorksj.ac.uk/health-and-wellbeing/ysjactive/