A hospital therapy team is helping 14 per cent more patients per month prepare for surgery.

Heatherwood Hospital, in Ascot, is part of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and has adopted a digitally-led approach to prioritising and supporting patients awaiting hip and knee replacements.

The project, which ran from January to June 2024, has now been fully embedded, allowing the therapies team to better prepare patients for surgery, facilitate earlier recovery, ensure safe discharge, and minimise cancellations or postponements.

The initiative hinges on an innovative digital waiting list tool, developed by Graphnet Health.

Part of Graphnet’s CIPHA population health platform, it has been integrated into Connected Care, the Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System (ICS) shared care record.

The tool enables clinicians to identify which patients require therapy intervention before surgery.

Previously, therapists would only have access to such information on the day of the patient's nurse surgical pre-assessment appointment.

The new system has significantly increased the preparation time patients have between their pre-assessment date and surgery date.

This allows patients more time to prepare for surgery, including prehabilitation exercises, dietary improvements, home preparations, and organising carer support.

During the pilot phase, 125 additional patients were pre-assessed, with only 10 receiving less than six weeks’ notice.

The project has also alleviated the demand on hospital staff, by increasing the use of virtual pre-assessments.

While patients must still attend their nurse surgical pre-assessment appointment, they no longer need to see the therapist face-to-face if they've been contacted virtually.

This saves patients time, reduces pressure on therapists, and allows therapists to focus more on complex cases.

Emma Sheppard, pre-assessment occupational therapist at Heatherwood Hospital and project lead, said: "We identify knee and hip replacement patients using the waiting list tool and then call them.

"They can either choose to have their pre-assessment via the phone or see us at the face-to-face surgical pre-assessment meeting – but we find that most of them opt for remote.

"We've had some very positive feedback from patients so far.

"They feel like they're not just sat on a waiting list.

"They have had contact from a real person, and the support and advice mean they're getting on with their exercises and other important prehab preparation weeks earlier."

The digital tool has also helped the team identify eight patients who needed to be removed from the waiting list, either because they weren't medically fit for surgery or it had been completed elsewhere.

The aim is to continue using the digital tool to identify and support elective orthopaedic patients and to increase the use of virtual therapy pre-assessments.

The goal is for 30 per cent of patients to be virtually assessed by the therapies team by 2025, and 50 per cent by 2026.