Patients at an east London NHS trust are taking part in a digital clinic to help them prepare for surgery.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has partnered with Sapien Health to give 700 patients access to the digital platform.

The technology will offer personalised education programmes and one-to-one remote health coaching to those taking part.

Sapien Health co-founder Dr Robbie Huddleston claimed the digital surgery clinic with BHRUT was a world-first of its type.

The trust runs Queen's Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes.

Dr Huddleston said: “We’re confident that the platform will prove an invaluable resource to patients during the run-up to their operation and throughout their recovery period.

"The team at Sapien will be working closely with the trust during this partnership period, offering ongoing support as our digital clinic evolves and expands in size.”

Patients taking part access the technology through an app from several months before their planned operation date.

Health metrics such as sleep tracking and physical activity will also be provided.

The aim of the initiative is to improve patient outcomes and prevent operation cancellations.

The NHS said in February that a third of on-the-day cancellations are because people are not "clinically ready" for treatment.

Veeru Shatkar, consultant surgeon and general surgery specialty lead at BHRUT, said: “The BHRUT team is excited to be launching our new digital surgery clinic, which will allow us to offer pre-habilitation support to our high-risk elective surgery patients.

“Going forward, the Sapien platform will empower our patients to take action to reduce the risk of surgical complications.

"This joined-up approach to pre-habilitation will enable us to increase capacity in our hospitals and reduce pressure on our workforce at this important pre-winter time”.

One BHRUT patient to have already used the technology, Samantha Phillips, said the one-to-one coaching was "a fantastic source of comfort".

She added: “Waiting for planned surgery can be an extremely lonely and worrying period.

"Having access to the Sapien Health app allowed me to learn about the actions I could take to prepare myself for my operation as best I could.

"It was comforting to know that I was setting myself up for a successful procedure, rather than just waiting around for a date."