JUSTINE EYES DOHA RETURN - Qatar Olympic Committee

o o o o o o o o o
sports
medicine
Clinical
Aspetar’s in-patient service focuses on musculoskeletal
injuries, both acute and chronic, and offers subspecialties
including rehabilitation, dentistry, and podiatry.
Nursing
The international nursing team delivers the highest
standards of patient care and includes specialised expertise
in orthopaedic nursing.
Rehabilitation
As proper rehabilitation is fundamental to recovery Aspetar’s
state-of-the-art rehabilitation department has exclusive
male and female areas, and provides expert Physiotherapy,
Hydrotherapy, Thalasso Therapy, Relaxation, Strength and
Conditioning as well as Functional Rehabilitation.
“In all my years I had never heard of a project like this and
I am simply delighted to be involved” said Dr Fowler who
has overseen the recruitment of the some of the world’s
best sports specialists to Aspetar.
“Aspetar brings together staff from nearly 50 countries,
each of whom brings their personal experience. It is a
truly multi-cultural project and every one of the 400 staff
members brings something unique to the team,” he said.
“Each of them is a specialist in sports and they will
share their knowledge and work together to make Aspetar
a leading centre not only in the Middle East region but
worldwide.”
The creation of Aspetar is evidence of Qatar’s
determination to build the finest possible sports
infrastructure and to deliver the best support for the
local population as well as international athletes.
Ambition
For Dr Fowler, an orthopaedic surgeon who opened
the Fowler Kennedy Clinic in Canada to meet a
growing need for specialist sports medical facilities,
working at Aspetar is the realisation of a long-held
ambition.
“As medical professionals Aspetar provides us with so
many opportunities. It is a superbly equipped facility
which has been designed to enable us to push everything
we do to the limit. It will allow all of us to do things which
we couldn’t possibly do in our own countries and that will
benefit the athletes we treat and the development of sports
medicine as a whole.”
His colleague, Senior Surgeon Nebojsa Popovic, an eminent
orthopaedic surgeon and Olympic Gold Medallist,
shares Dr Fowler’s enthusiasm.
“The attention to every little detail is simply fantastic.
Staff working at Aspetar have access to the best and latest
equipment and technology to enable them to achieve the
best results for patients.
“It is a quality environment in every way but the standard
ultimately comes down to the quality of the people and
we are delighted to have the best in the world right here.”
And the best will always attract the best. Aspetar has
already treated athletes including players from a number
of leading European football clubs and Dr Fowler expects
that trend to continue.
“As sports developed in Qatar having a first class sports
medicine facility here in Doha became more and more of
a priority,” said Dr Fowler.
“Aspetar means that Qatari athletes
no longer have to leave the country
to receive treatment elsewhere in the
Gulf region of even further afield
which is a significant step forward.
Elsewhere in the world, leading athletes
have become accustomed to
having to travel to receive the appropriate
treatment, whether that is to
specialist clinics in the United States,
Germany or elsewhere.
“Qatar is so accessible from Europe
and elsewhere in Asia that we certainly
don’t see distance as a barrier
to players taking advantage of the facilities and treatment
available here at Aspetar.”
Those who do will find more than a world-class sports
hospital. As much attention has been paid to ensuring a
comfortable stay as delivering effective treatments. They
are promised a Five Star experience with luxury rooms,
a top quality restaurant, cable television and Internet
access.
“Our aim is to use the work carried out here to create
and share a body of knowledge that will benefit athletes,”
Dr Popovic said.
“We are part of a national sports science programme and
will conduct research into diet and nutrition, physiology,
gait analysis and psychology. We even have altitude
Above: Aspetar Chief
Surgeon Nebojsa
Popovic.
“It is a quality environment in every way but
the standard ultimately comes down to the
quality of the people and we are delighted
to have the best in the world right here”
dormitories which allow up to 48 athletes to prepare for
high altitude conditions without leaving Qatar.”
The Aspetar radiology department includes state-ofthe-art
equipment and an in-house laboratory equipped
to conduct around 500 specialist tests.
The Research and Education Centre develops
specialised post-graduate degrees in sports medicine and
sport sciences. The Centre is also well positioned to play
an integral role in Qatar’s strategic national health and
medical research programmes. Research focuses on a wide
range of areas, from development of surgical procedures to
genetic factors in sport.
“We have spent three years getting the base of the
project right - making sure that the hospitality is designed
and equipped to deliver the best possible services so that it
can not only function but grow and develop,” Dr Popovic
said.
To help achieve that goal, Aspetar will be guided by
some of the best respected figures in international sports
medicine.
The last word goes to Dr Fowler. “This is likely to be
my last big project and I am delighted to be part of its
legacy,” he said.
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