Dubai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed UAE-based VPS Healthcare as the medical partners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
The healthcare group will be responsible for ensuring end-to-end medical solutions for the tournament, acting as a vital arm to the bio secure bubble being provided by the UK-based company Restrata. This includes comprehensive medical services for players, supporting staff of the franchisees and other IPL stakeholders.
As per the agreement, VPS Healthcare will be supporting IPL by providing emergency medical support, musculo-skeletal imaging services, sports medicine services, medical admissions and treatment and ambulance support, including air ambulance services.
VPS Healthcare is also the official testing partner of IPL and had begun testing since the arrival of the teams in the UAE. The group is also facilitating the operation and management of the exclusive COVID-19 isolation centres for IPL in coordination with the health regulatory authorities. With this, the UAE-based healthcare group will be covering the medical side of the tournament as a whole.
The group’s Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi and Burjeel Specialty Hospital in Sharjah will serve as exclusive medical centres to cater to the medical requirements of the players, supporting staff and other officials during the nearly two-month long tournament.
Dr. Shajir Gaffar, CEO of VPS Healthcare (Dubai and Northern Emirates), said: “We are all ready and well-poised to serve the IPL. A detailed plan has been chalked out. We will stick to our plan strictly, and ensure the tournament is held in a risk-free environment, and the players, supporting staff and match officials stay healthy and COVID free till they depart to their home countries after the tournament. We realise the gravitas of the responsibility on us and the challenge of defending a raging virus. But we are fully equipped, and the team is confident and committed to delivering our services efficiently and seamlessly.”
In the case of medical admissions, players taken to VPS hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Sharjah will be treated and subjected to other medical services in a completely secured and risk-free environment. The ambulance and air ambulance support for the IPL will be provided by Response Plus Medical (RPM), VPS Healthcare’s onsite medical team.
VPS’s Burjeel Medical City will be facilitating the air ambulance services as it has a chopper-landing facility. The hospital at Mohammed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabi is merely 14 kms away from the stadium and 20 kms from the accommodation of the players in Abu Dhabi.
