Prehab course gets patients fitter before their operations

A prehab course being run at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend is getting patients fit and healthy before receiving their surgery.

Unlike a rehab course, the aim of prehab is to work with patients before they are operated on, to ensure that they are in the best possible health before going into the operating theatre.

The course is being led by Consultant Anaesthetist Rhidian Jones who explained: “The idea of the prehab class is that we want to get our patients as fit as possible to get through their operations. We know the fitter you are, the less likely you are to have complications after these big operations.

“We hope that by providing this service to the patients, they’ll get through their operations without any complications.”

Patients attend a class three times a week and do an hour of exercise as well as mindfulness classes and education about healthy lifestyles.

Chris Jones is the Exercise referral Instructor who work with the patients. He said: “We run some exercise and education sessions to help people improve their quality of life. This helps them to get fitter and stronger so that when they have had their surgery, their recovery time is a lot faster. Evidence shows that exercise is really beneficial to help people to speed up their recovery time after surgery.”

Kim Edwards is just one of the patients taking part in the prehab programme. She said: “I have been diagnosed with cancer of the colon and I find these sessions excellent; the information they give you is outstanding. The exercise part of it is fun. It’s great to keep fit and have a laugh with people who are in the same situation as I’m in.”