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Preoperative Physiotherapy

The Preoperative Physiotherapy team works with patients before their surgery, to aid and optimise their recovery after surgery.

Our aim is to reduce the length of your stay in hospital and minimise the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications, such as pneumonia.

We provide support for patients undergoing:

Oesophagectomy
Gastrectomy
Hepatectomy
Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's)
Total Pancreatectomy
Colorectal Surgery
Bowel Transplant

Our team

Our small team of senior and support staff has experience of working with patients both before and after surgery.

We also provide training and development opportunities for rotational junior staff members, so they may gain skills while working towards postgraduate training.

Harriet Finze

Team Lead, Surgery and Renal Physiotherapy Team, Churchill Hospital

As well as supporting clinical services and reviewing patients, Harriet supports the development of the Preoperative Physiotherapy service.

Nathan Robbins

Lead Physiotherapist

Nathan has multiple years' experience working with patients before their surgery, as well as a wealth of inpatient respiratory and surgical experience.

Madalina Puiu

Madalina specialises in working with patients undergoing abdominal transplants, such as bowel transplants. Madalina will also follow patients along the surgical pathway journey before and after their surgery.

Dane Jenner

Dane works across the surgical wards at the Churchill Hospital as well as monitoring and supporting progression of patients before their surgery. Dane has a background in exercise science and rehabilitation.

Your appointment

We offer a variety of appointments:

Face to face
Video via 'Attend Anywhere'
Telephone

Please wear loose comfortable clothing for your appointment, as part of our assessment will include some simple physical assessments.

During your appointment, we will ask questions about your daily activity, social history and exercise history. We will then prescribe exercise and activity designed to improve your physical fitness and function before you have surgery.

We make every effort to offer you a suitable date and time for your appointment. If you have any concerns, or are delayed, please contact us.

Inspiratory muscle training

As part of your preoperative physiotherapy, we may give you a device to use. We will tell you how to use and maintain it. This information is also in the leaflet at the link below.

Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) using POWERbreathe Medic (pdf)