CGH unveils first home-based prehabilitation program for cancer patients

In a latest development across the medical fraternity, patients recently diagnosed with cancer and awaiting surgery can conduct their pre-operation prehabilitation at home, with the introduction of Changi General Hospital (CGH).

Apparently, the CGH home-centric programme provides a single solution to minimize the number of patient visits to the hospital for pre-operational assessment by introducing the prehabilitation at home service.

As per sources, in the prehabilitation process, patients are referred to numerous allied health practitioners by surgeons. The new framework provides two appointments to the patients-for consultation and before the treatment starts.

For the unversed, prehabilitation is the care a patient receives prior to surgery in order to fasten the healing or recovery process of the patient.

Followed by consultation with surgeon, functional, frailty and mental wellness tests are performed on patients by a prehabilitation supervisor, who prepares a personalized intervention schedule that includes exercises and tips related to mental and nutritional wellness.

Tay San San, Clinical Assistant Professor and Chief at CGH cited that prehabilitation offers various benefits to the patients. Tay stated that it also minimizes the risks of post-surgery complications, re-admissions and fatalities and facilitates fast recovery.

Tay added that the process of prehabilitation generates tolerability of side effects in patients who are likely to undertake chemotherapy as their treatment.

Imperatively, the initiative began as a pilot study in Jan 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and observed admission from 59 patients in 18 months. The programme only catered to patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

According to credible sources, the CGH’s home-based prehabilitation programme has around 200 patients as of this year mid-January.

However, Dr. Navin Kuthiah, Medical Consultant and Perioperative Medicine Specialist at Woodland Health commented that the home-centric prehabilitation initiative has both pros and cons attached to it.

Navin suggested that the non-compliance might pose as a challenge as it is possible that the patients might not follow the advice if left unsupervised.

Source Credits:- https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/cgh-launches-first-home-based-prehabilitation-program-for-cancer-patients