How to ask for prehab on the NHS

The short version

  • Ask your breast care nurse (clinical nurse specialist) or surgeon: “Is there a prehabilitation programme I can join before my treatment?”
  • What’s available depends on where you live. Some areas have NHS prehab services; others don’t yet.
  • If prehab isn’t offered, ask for a Holistic Needs Assessment, referrals to a physiotherapist or dietitian, and information about local activity programmes. You can also start yourself.
Two people talking. One asks: is there a prehab programme I can join?

Who to ask

The best person to ask is usually your breast care nurse, sometimes called your clinical nurse specialist or key worker. You can also ask:

  • your surgeon or oncologist at your next appointment
  • the pre-operative assessment team before surgery
  • your GP or practice nurse

What to say

It helps to be specific. You could say:

“I’d like to get as fit and well as I can before my treatment. Is there a prehabilitation programme I can join, and can I do it from home?”

If the answer is no, follow up with:

  1. “Can I have a Holistic Needs Assessment?” This is a conversation about everything cancer is affecting, from fitness and diet to money and mood, ending with a care plan.1
  2. “Could you refer me to a physiotherapist or dietitian before my treatment?”
  3. “Is it safe for me to be more active before my treatment? Is there anything I should avoid?”
  4. “Are there local activity programmes for people with cancer, such as Macmillan Move More?”
  5. “Can you show me the arm and shoulder exercises for after surgery, so I can practise them now?”

Our printable appointment question card has these questions and more.

What’s available in each part of the UK

England

Prehab services vary by hospital and cancer alliance. Some offer group classes, some offer one-to-one support, and some use digital programmes delivered at home. England’s National Cancer Plan (February 2026) commits to a digital-first prehabilitation offer for all cancer patients, and to national quality standards.2 Until that’s in place everywhere, it’s worth asking what your hospital offers.

Scotland

NHS Scotland’s Prehab for Scotland website has a patient section, Prehab and Me, with advice on activity, nutrition, mental wellbeing, alcohol and smoking.3 Ask your team about local prehab services in your health board.

Wales

Services vary by health board. In Cardiff and Vale, the Prehab2Rehab programme offers exercise classes, dietary advice and wellbeing support. An evaluation found that patients who went to at least three exercise sessions spent about three fewer days in hospital after surgery.4

Northern Ireland

Macmillan and the Northern Ireland Cancer Network have produced a Cancer Prehabilitation Toolkit covering activity, nutrition, wellbeing and lifestyle. Your clinical nurse specialist can tell you about local support, and some people are referred to a specialist prehab team.5

If prehab isn’t offered locally

You still have good options:

A personalised option: QuestPrehab

QuestPrehab’s digital prehab is used by NHS hospitals. If yours doesn’t offer it, you can refer yourself to QuestPrehab and their team will contact you to talk through your treatment and goals. Read our guide to QuestPrehab or compare all UK programmes.

Tips for the conversation

  • Write your questions down and take them with you.
  • Bring someone with you if you can, to listen and take notes.
  • Ask for things in writing, such as a care plan or exercise sheet.
  • If you’re told prehab isn’t needed, it’s fine to ask why, and what you can safely do yourself.

Related pages

Everyone’s treatment is different, so talk to your cancer team about what is right for you.

References

  1. Macmillan Cancer Support. What is a Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA)? www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/coping-with-treatment/holistic-needs-assessment-hna
  2. Department of Health and Social Care. National Cancer Plan for England. February 2026. Summary of prehabilitation commitments as reported by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Centre for Perioperative Care. rcoa.ac.uk/news/rcoa-cpoc-respond-release-governments-national-cancer-plan
  3. NHS Scotland. Prehabilitation for Scotland: Prehab and Me. www.prehab.nhs.scot/
  4. Public Health Wales. Evaluation of Prehab2Rehab (Cardiff and Vale University Health Board). September 2025. phw.nhs.wales/reports/evaluation-of-prehab2rehab/
  5. Macmillan Prehabilitation Clinical Project Managers NI and Northern Ireland Cancer Network. Cancer Prehabilitation Toolkit. nican.hscni.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Regional-Cancer-Prehabilitation-Toolkit.pdf