St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board has established an independent professional central Medical Committee and Local Medical Panels throughout the region.
The central Medical Committee consists of:
Dr. Akshai Mansingh – Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Rene Best – Rehabilitation Coordinator
Dr. Anyl Gopeesingh – Sports Medicine Specialist
CJ Clark – Senior Team Physiotherapist
Hector Martinez-Charles – Senior Team Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Local Medical Panels are made up of medical professionals in each territory and will liaise with the Medical Committee in ensuring that all players have personalized care in their home territories..
The Medical Committee, will principally assess and manage all injuries to players in West Indies cricket.
Dr. Mansingh commented: "Establishment of a comprehensive structure for all cricketers in the region was badly needed. That the WICB has also invested in the latest software in Player Injury Management and this will allow medical information to be accessed in real time by medical professionals only, allowing them to offer world class treatment while maintaining player confidentiality."
In August last the WICB held a Medical Conference in Barbados and among the objectives were a review of the medical management of players and the need to establish a world class player medical management system.
The conference also discussed the functioning of the Medical Committee of the WICB and it was out of this conference that the new independent Medical Committee was formed.
The Conference was aimed at rejuvenating the region-wide medical structure within the cricketing fraternity and establishing a network of sports medicine professionals throughout the region to support the West Indies cricket structure.
A detailed and comprehensive WICB Medical Policy and Procedures with regard to injury management was presented and discussed.
Medical professionals from all six territorial boards along with those attached to the Combined Campuses and Colleges team and the Sagicor High Performance Centre attended the Conference.