Welcare Hospital official onsite medical partner at IRB Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai

The hospital, which has been the official medical partner at the Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament for the past five years, was selected for the first IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens event, the first of its kind to take place in the Middle East, owing to the renowned reputation of sports medicine expertise at the hospital.

Across the three days of the tournament, a total of 76 injuries were reported, including approximately ten players with head injuries; of which three were transferred to Welcare Hospital owing to unconsciousness. In addition, there were approximately ten open injuries, eight dislocations and seven spine injuries, with the most common injury amongst the players muscle tears; which accounted for almost 30 of the recorded injuries.

Dr. George John, Specialist Sports Medicine Surgeon at the Welcare Hospital, with more than 10 years experience in treating and operating on patients with sport-related injuries, commented on the high number of injuries at the event.

He said:

"Sports events like World Series Rugby tournaments that involve amateur players always result in a greater number of injuries; but are not normally as serious as those seen in the professional game like this World Cup Rugby Sevens. Overall, our team at Welcare dealt with a total of 76 injuries and despite three players being committed to hospital semi-unconscious following knocks to the head, none of the players were injured too seriously."

Two players were operated on by specialist Dr. John prior to the tournament. A top female player from the Netherlands and a female player from the French team were both injured during the training sessions (fracture and knee cartilage tear), but fortunately both could play the tournament over the three days, to the gratitude of their teams.

Another player was admitted to Welcare Hospital with an eye injury which needed surgery. The player for the Samoan side commented, "All rugby players realize that sporting injuries can and will happen during the course of such a tournament. The care at Welcare Hospital has been second to none, and following the surgery that I've had at the hospital, I am confident of making a quick recovery, and getting back to play as soon as possible."

Two top players from the winning Welsh side were also treated by Dr. John, and were able to compete in the tournament following treatment.

The IRB, the global governing and law making body for the game of Rugby Union which organized the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai, stipulates that at every IRB competition, a team of highly-qualified medical specialists must be present.

Mr. William of the IRB commented on the choice of Welcare Hospital, "The Rugby Sevens World Cup is a hugely important sporting event on our annual sporting calendar, and fans from across the globe descended on Dubai for the event. As always, the safety of players is our top priority, meaning we needed a trusted partner that has the expertise and resources to deal with any injury eventuality. With their excellent track record of providing care at sporting events for the past five years, Welcare Hospital was our first choice of partner and the team of doctors did an excellent job in efficiently and effectively providing their expertise."

Welcare Hospital provides onsite support to a variety of other major regional events including sporting fixtures, music concerts and events and community activities.