British athletes on the World Class Programme will continue to benefit from expert medical care after it was announced Bupa will remain as the Official Health Insurance Partner of UK Sport.
The partnership means Bupa is continuing its support of UK Sport’s highly successful Athlete Medical Scheme (AMS), which provides extensive medical insurance to support elite athletes in their recovery from illness and injury, delivered alongside the English Institute of Sport, UK Sport’s science, medicine and technology arm.
For over 10 years, Bupa has been working in partnership with UK Sport to ensure that over 1,300 of the UK’s elite athletes have access to specialist medical treatment, when expertise outside of the day to day medical support is required, this varies from diagnostics tests and MRI scans to surgical procedures. During this time, Bupa has covered over 30,000 treatments for British athletes.
As part of the partnership, two-time cycling world champion Becky James will become an official Bupa ambassador. James, who missed the London 2012 Olympic Games while recovering from surgery on her appendix, said: “As an athlete, knowing we’ve got the medical support and expertise from Bupa is incredible. It allows us to stay completely focussed on our training and performances knowing we’ve got access to some of the best medical treatment around.
“I have witnessed first-hand the benefits of the Bupa partnership. After missing London 2012 through illness, the expert treatment allowed me to focus on my recovery and come back better than ever to become world champion.”
UK Sport is investing record levels of National Lottery and Government funding to help athletes prepare for international competition and ultimately to represent Great Britain at the Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Patrick Watt, Corporate Director, Bupa Health Funding said: “We know how crucial it is for athletes to get their injuries and health problems diagnosed and treated quickly to enable a speedy recovery. We’re proud that the UK’s elite athletes have continued to trust us to provide them with top quality healthcare.”
Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport said: “UK Sport’s continued partnership with Bupa demonstrates the importance of injury prevention and fast recovery in the world of elite sport. The care Bupa provides our athletes compliments the world class medical care provided by the home country sports institutes.
“With just over two years to go until the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this renewed partnership is sure to provide fantastic peace of mind for athletes and coaches alike so they can concentrate on their performances and get to the start line fit and healthy.