Health sector ready to support World Cup

In just a few weeks' time, the world will be watching an exceptional FIFA World Cup edition, widely expected to be the best in history, with Qatar having prepared well for this tournament.This achievement will prompt billions around the world to watch, search and read about Qatar, the Gulf Arab state that won the 2022 World Cup bid 12 years ago.The official Qatar News Agency takes a look at the preparations in the health sector:The health sector in Qatar plays an important role in the hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, as it is preparing, in co-operation with the relevant authorities and partners in the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, FIFA and the World health Organisation (WHO) to provide a comprehensive range of medical services during the tournament.Health sector officials have emphasised on many occasions that the sector is fully prepared to support the country's efforts to host the World Cup by providing healthcare services to all those attending the upcoming global event.Qatar and WHO signed a three-year partnership in October 2021, in co-operation with FIFA, to carry out joint activities to promote a healthy life, health security and physical and mental wellbeing.As Qatar has a great legacy and experience in hosting major international sporting events such as the 2006 Asian Games, the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, 2019 World Athletics Championships, and the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, healthcare teams in Qatar have gained a lot of experience in dealing with events through their participation in them, which makes them ready and capable of dealing with the medical requirements of the upcoming global event.Regarding preparations for the World Cup, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), in partnership with WHO, has held a series of workshops, meetings and training courses on health security aimed at making the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 safe medically and in terms of health.In light of the expectation that huge numbers of people will come to Qatar to attend the World Cup, and with tens of thousands of fans present in each stadium to watch matches and attend various events outside them, the necessary preventive steps have been taken to avoid health threats caused by mass gatherings and ensure the safety and security of the tournament.Chair of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Health Strategic Command Group, Dr Ahmed al-Mohamed, stresses that the healthcare sector is fully prepared to support the country's efforts to host the tournament by providing a comprehensive and diversified set of healthcare services.He explained that plans for healthcare services for the World Cup brought together partners from across the public and private sectors.Official healthcare spokesperson for the World Cup and medical director of Hamad General Hospital, Dr Yousef al-Maslamani, adds that healthcare teams at Hamad Corporation (HMC) and its partners will be keen to provide the best services in various places, noting that ambulance teams will play an important role as well.According to those in charge of the health sector, healthcare teams at the MoPH, HMC, Primary Health Care Corporation, Aspetar, Sidra Medicine, Qatar Red Crescent Society, Qatar Armed Forces, Ministry of Interior and private health services at QatarEnergy, will come together to provide healthcare services in stadiums, fan zones and training areas. These are in addition to providing emergency and urgent care services within healthcare facilities and a wide range of medical and support services to teams, officials and specialised temporary workforce groups, as well as to local and visiting fans.The Ambulance Service at HMC will also play a major role in providing services in stadiums, areas where matches will be held and other locations, in addition to preparing for any potential emergency incidents. Besides the various health sectors, Aspetar will also play a major role during the tournament by providing its medical services to all the players participating in the World Cup.Aspetar will play a leading role during the World Cup, especially with orthopaedic surgeon Dr Khalid al-Khelaifi being selected by FIFA as medical director for athlete services during the tournament. Aspetar has all the capabilities to provide excellent medical services during the World Cup, as it usually does in all tournaments; all hospital staff, including doctors, surgeons, specialists and pharmacists, will work through a 24/7 system to cover any medical emergency needed by the participating players.According to Aspetar officials, some of the hospital's qualified doctors have been assigned to work as medical directors in several World Cup stadiums.During the tournament, the hospital will provide its services in particular to about 10 participating teams in the tournament who have limited medical support - enabling them to use additional medical staff to work directly with. Aspetar's role will not be limited to providing medical services, but will also provide assistance upon request in supporting the participating teams with additional medical equipment and staff, as well as making use of the hospital facilities in Qatari clubs where some of the participating teams' training sites are located during the tournament to serve the participating teams and their staff.Work is under way to open and equip five new health centres before the start of the tournament, taking the number of health centres to increase from 27 to 32 based on the latest international standards. The centres provide many medical services through different clinics, including a specialised travel clinic, where patients can receive vaccinations and health consultations, while special clinics are available for persons with disabilities.During the tournament, visiting fans will have access to world-class medical services in their time of need. In the event of a medical emergency, such as a serious injury or sudden illness, fans can call 999 to request for rapid emergency support from the HMC Ambulance Service, which operates 24/7. It also provides rapid support for life-threatening medical incidents and the case is urgently transferred to the appropriate emergency department of the hospital.Fans can easily access healthcare services, whether they visit hospitals for non-emergency care, or through medical clinics in stadiums, fan zones, main accommodation sites and all venues managed by healthcare teams.Many private healthcare providers will also operate 24-hour emergency and urgent care services, in addition to allocating four HMC hospitals to patients who need urgent but non-emergency medical care.A health information website for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament will be launched in Arabic and English, which will help provide an electronic reference to learn about the healthcare system in Qatar and the multiple options available to all for receiving medical support. Public health awareness information on food safety, handling the heat and sunlight, traffic safety, infection control measures and other information services will be broadcast.