Malta Paralympic Committee delivers seminar for doctors and healthcare professionals
- Malta Paralympic Committee
- Sep 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Malta Paralympic Committee (MPC) delivered a seminar for Paediatricians and healthcare professionals from Mater Dei Hospital (MDH) and St. Luke’s Hospital’s Child Development Assessment Unit (CDAU), as part of its outreach and awareness initiatives.
The seminar focused on the “patient to athlete journey”, providing practical insights into how MPC and medical and healthcare professionals can cooperate to enable patients with physical, visual, hearing and/or intellectual impairments to integrate sport, movement and physical activity as a core element of a patient’s rehabilitation programme and treatment plan.
MPC shared its experience working alongside professionals in the field and emphasised how it has seen patients’ lives being transformed through the power of Para sport, noting that: “MPC’s philosophy is to provide individuals, regardless of their impairments or disabilities, with the necessary tools, know-how and professional support to enhance their mobility and functionality, as well as to participate meaningfully in society through independent living. Sport is a supplemental to, but not a replacement of, medical treatments and physical or occupational therapies. We share the common goal of improving people’s lives.”
During the seminar MPC addressed frequently asked questions, including on best practices for referring patients to MPC and the role played by MPC in facilitating the process for individuals to take up a sport that is accessible, inclusive and appropriate according to their type of impairment or disability. MPC explained that whilst it does not employ or engage sports coaches itself, it collaborates with national sports associations and federations and sports clubs to provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate within mainstream sports, on a 1-to-1 personalised basis and/or within groups, depending on the individual’s progress.
MPC emphasised the intrinsic connection between the global Paralympic Movement and the medical and healthcare community, recalling how the very concept was born out of Stoke Mandeville hospital in the UK, which saw an influx of patients with traumatic and life-changing injuries such as paraplegia or amputations in the aftermath of World War II. The movement, which focused on active, functional and social rehabilitation through sport, was pioneered by neurologist Professor Sir Dr Luttwig Guttman. Learn more about the history of the movement on https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/professor-sir-ludwig-guttmann.
For more information on how to get involved in sport or if you are interested in organising information seminars or workshops, visit MPC’s website on https://www.paralympic.mt or MPC’s Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/MaltaParalympicCommittee/. MPC may also be contacted via email on info@paralympic.mt.
This press release is also available in Maltese:
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