Aspetar, an orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, will be offering more services and facilities for the athletes, a top hospital official has said.
“We are introducing certain unique services by highly qualified professionals. We offer services related to spine, cartilage and many specialised facilities. We are also offering sports surgical training,” said Dr Mohamed Ghaith al-Kuwari, acting director general, Aspetar, while delivering a keynote address at the first GCC Sports Medicine 
Conference yesterday.
Al-Kuwari added: “Aspetar provides multiple services and has an integrated approach. The hospital focuses on performance enhancement of the athletes, efficient rehabilitation of the injured sports people as well as injury prevention. It has several specialisations and expertise in several areas such as exercise medicine, sports medicine and sports surgery.”
The official also noted that the hospital provides treatment for a number of athletes from the GCC and other countries. There is also an altitude adaptation centre which is made use of by sports people and teams from several countries around the world.
According to al-Kuwari, Aspetar has become the centre of sports medicine in the region and has got accreditation from several organisations around the world. “The hospital also has completed two expansions recently to add more facilities and provide more services. There has also been great increase in the number of publications by Aspetar researchers that have appeared in several leading journals.”
The two-day conference was attended by officials and delegates from GCC countries, including Prof Tawfik A M Khoja, director general, Executive Board of Health Ministers Council for GCC States. 
Khoja said: “This conference should serve as a springboard for generating further interest in sports medicine in the GCC region. Aspetar is ideally placed to assume responsibility for organising this conference, based on its extensive expertise in sports medicine. Working closely with sports medicine professionals, Aspetar can play a pioneering role in enhancing physical activity in the community.”
He also appealed that GCC countries should think on developing centres on the lines of Aspetar as it is very important in terms of capacity building.