Unit 8: Individual health services

A major issue for international sporting events is the provision of health services to visitors and participants. Although this toolkit is primarily about the public health issues associated with mass sporting events, a large amount of planning is clearly needed for the provision of medical services at venues and, in the case of the Olympics, the Polyclinic and Village. This section therefore gives some advice and references to medical service provision.

Planning of medical services must involve those with expertise in specialities such as sports medicine, dentistry, and physiotherapy to ensure that services are appropriate and sensitive to the needs and expectations of elite athletes. As with the other work streams, a main focus in provision of quality health services is maximum collaboration between the private and public health and medical sectors to ensure that resources can be mobilized efficiently toward the common goal of appropriate, quality, and timely care.