WIREDGOV

This report summarises the findings from a survey of stakeholders and service providers about cancer prehabilitation and rehabilitation services in Scotland.

Executive Summary

This report summarises the findings from a survey undertaken in 2022 about cancer prehabilitation and rehabilitation services in Scotland. Its findings were analysed by Scottish Government (SG) analysts, on behalf of Scotland's Cancer Prehabilitation Implementation Steering Group (CPISG). Its purpose was to support CPISG to re-assess the current and planned prehabilitation position within Scotland, in order to understand awareness of the eight Key Principles for Implementing Cancer Prehabilitation across Scotland ('Key Principles') and deliver its objective of effective national roll-out of prehabilitation services.

For the purposes of the survey the following definitions were provided to respondents:

Prehabilitation "constitutes nutrition, physical activity/exercise and psychological support and the associated interventions delivered before definitive cancer treatment. You may consider individual services or multi-modal programmes."

Rehabilitation "constitutes nutrition, physical activity/exercise and psychological support and the associated interventions delivered after definitive cancer treatment. Rehabilitation is proactive and personalised."

There were 187 respondents to the 2022 survey, compared with 295 to a similar survey in 2019. Around three quarters of respondents were employed by the NHS in secondary or tertiary care. Nearly three quarters were Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), Physicians (secondary or tertiary care) or Nurses.

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