PreActiv’s mission to improve surgery outcomes using digital perihabilitation

PreActiv is a digital platform that provides patients recovering from surgery with personalised, evidence-based prehabilitation programmes compatible across all devices. These programmes adapt to patient progress in real time and include education, community support, and progress tracking.

In the UK, 30 per cent of people undergoing major surgery suffer complications, costing trusts £10,800 per patient. [1-10]

We know prehabilitation can halve this risk and help patients recover faster, but traditional services are costly and hard to access.

That’s why PreActiv was born. Using smart technology, they create individualised and dynamic prehabilitation programmes that reduce complications and shorten hospital stays, providing a scalable and cost-effective solution.

How active and able a patient is before treatment is a key determinant of how well they will recover afterwards. The NHS needs a preventative strategy that empowers patients to improve their recovery before treatment begins.

– Dr Alec Snow, PreActiv co-founder and NHS Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Consultant

Aligned with NHS priorities, PreActiv supports digital transformation, community-based care and workforce efficiency, improving outcomes and easing pressure across departments.

The journey

PreActiv’s founders, experienced NHS clinicians Dr Rebecca Allam and Dr Alec Snow, saw firsthand the urgent need for better preventative care, especially before major treatment like surgery or cancer care.

In 2020, determined to improve patient care and outcomes, they formed PreActiv; a team of healthcare experts, tech innovators, and industry leaders.

Evidence-based medicine is at the heart of what we do. Knowing we’re truly improving patient care is what motivated me to step away from clinical practice to run PreActiv full time.

– Dr Rebecca Allam, PreActiv co-founder and haematologist

From day one, PreActiv set out to build something scalable, equitable, and fully aligned with key NHS goals and perioperative care guidelines, ensuring that patient needs and outcomes remained at the heart of their mission.

The impact

PreActiv is now implemented at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London, alongside the Royal United Hospitals, Bath, with further pilots scheduled to begin imminently.

In the summer of 2025, our 2024 clinical trial study was selected as a finalist in the Evidence-Based Perioperative Medicine abstract competition, based on its exciting results. The key findings included:

• 98% adherence
• 86% retention rate
• 42% average increase in patient fitness over six weeks
• 43% increase in physical activity over six weeks
• 98% of sessions were performed at vigorous intensity. Meeting WHO Guidelines on physical activity.
• Patients also reported better mental health and quality of life.

The goal for PreActiv has always been to expand prehabilitation beyond surgery, and over the past six months, they have taken an exciting step by launching their new oncology platform. It supports patients before, during, and after their treatment.

This approach is called perihabilitation, providing individualised care throughout the entire treatment journey.

Partnering with DrDoctor and scaling with the Accelerator

PreActiv believes partnerships are essential in digital health. As innovators, we are all working toward the same goal, supporting the NHS and improving care.

With digital transformation at the heart of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, collaboration between health tech companies is key to creating streamlined, interoperable workflows that truly support both staff and patients.

Next steps

Looking ahead, PreActiv’s mission remains the same: to create smart, evidence-based solutions for healthier futures.

With the support of their partners, they are continuing their work to widen access to prehabilitation across the NHS, while also launching an oncology platform into multiple pilot sites.

PreActiv are also expanding its platform within the community to deliver individualised care to people at risk of falls and those living with long-term conditions.

To support this next phase, PreActiv are preparing for our seed raise in September, enabling us to expand our impact across the UK and into Europe.

Learn more about PreActiv by visiting their website and connecting on LinkedIn.

PreActiv is part of cohort 8 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme is funded by the UK Government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in partnership with the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, Medicity, NHS England, the Mayor of London and the Levelling Up Fund.

For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-
shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.

References

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2. Daniels I, Tuson R, Hargreaves J. What are the financial implications of an open right hemicolectomy to hospital trusts within NHS England? A cost analysis BMJ Open 2021;11:e053187. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053187.
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