- Bupa becomes the Official Healthcare Partner of the British Paralympics Association, working together to the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 and beyond.
- This marks Bupa's 4th official healthcare partnership with a national Paralympic association following Spain, Poland and Chile.
- Through each national partnership, Bupa helps to keep the Paralympians healthy and strong - so that they can perform at the best level they can and inspire people of all abilities.
Bupa, the international healthcare company, has launched the latest in a series of official health partnerships with national Paralympic teams with a new agreement with the British Paralympics Association (BPA).
Ahead of Paris 2024, the BPA joins Bupa's existing network of official health partnerships with national teams in Spain, Poland and Chile. Through each partnership, Bupa professionals provide outstanding healthcare support to help the physical and mental wellbeing of hundreds of Paralympians across these teams, so that they can perform at their very best. In turn, Bupa will learn from our partners to provide better and more inclusive healthcare for our customers around the world.
Bupa started this journey in 2007, when its business in Spain, Sanitas, became the Official Healthcare Partner to the Spanish Paralympic Committee, paving the way for partnerships in Poland in 2014 and Chile in 2020.
Through working together, each partnership aims to promote inclusion, shift perceptions about disabilities and inspire future generations, all in line with Bupa’s purpose of: “Helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world.”
Bupa Group CEO, Inaki Ereño, said: “We're so proud to be the Official Healthcare Partner for the national Paralympic Associations in Spain, Poland, Chile and now the UK.
We want to help these teams perform at their very best and by working together we can break down barriers and promote greater inclusivity in healthcare around the world.”
We've brought these partnerships to life through this short video.
Video shows Paralympians from Spain, Chile, Poland and the UK. Text in video reads: "Paralympians inspire change. Redefining what is possible. Bupa is by their side in Chile, Spain, Poland and the UK. Supporting athletes through victory and defeat. Showing the world. When your health is taken care of. You can achieve anything. Bupa - Official Healthcare partner." Featuring the logos of Paralympic Associations from Chile, Spain, Poland and the UK.
Notes to editors
- Spain:
- Bupa’s business, Sanitas, has partnered with the national Paralympic team since 2007 as the team’s Official Health Partner.
- Currently, Sanitas provides health insurance cover to 170 Paralympic athletes and a dedicated medical service in Madrid for the Paralympics team.
- The Spanish Paralympic Committee is also a member of the Alliance for Inclusive Sports which the Sanitas Foundation supports. This alliance organises initiatives such as: training programmes for teachers in schools; and supporting disabled students to take part in physical education classes in schools.
- Recently, we created something amazing together in Spain – the first Inclusive Games. In 2021, the Sanitas Foundation organised the first Inclusive Games in Spain in collaboration with the members of the Alliance for Inclusive Sport. This was an inclusive competition between top Spanish athletes with, and without, disabilities. 170 athletes competed across nine sports: swimming; athletics; judo; triathlon; taekwondo, rugby; table tennis; badminton; and wheelchair basketball.
- Poland:
- Bupa’s business in Poland, LUX MED, has been developing sports medicine services for several years. This meant partnering with athletes came very naturally.
- Since 2014, we have been taking care of Polish Olympians as the main medical partner of the Polish Olympic Committee, and this partnership was extended to the Polish Paralympic Committee.
- Since 2014, we have supported 166 Paralympians. We have also performed almost 23,000 medical procedures for people associated with either the Polish Olympic Committee or the Polish Paralympic Committee - both athletes and their support staff.
- Chile:
- In 2020, we became healthcare partner to the Chilean Paralympic Committee (known as ‘COPACHI’), working with its 15 national organisations across 23 different sports.
- Bupa Chile supports current and future Paralympic athletes through: a health benefits fund; access to our IntegraMédica clinics network; and our dedicated sports medicine centre.
- This has all helped Paralympic athletes from Chile to prepare for the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. And now, it’s helping the next group of Paralympians to prepare for the 2023 Para-Panamerican Games to be held in Santiago.
- UK:
- The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is the National Paralympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It’s responsible for preparing, funding and managing the ParalympicsGB Team.
- In July 2022, Bupa became the Official Healthcare Partner to ParalympicsGB, working to prepare athletes for the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, as well as delivering social impact to improve the lives of disabled people beyond the podium.
- With a long-term strategy of Championing Change, the BPA is committed to shifting the perception of disability and inspiring a new generation to believe that anything is possible. Our partnership will break down barriers and promote greater inclusivity in healthcare and beyond.
About Bupa
- Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world.
- We are an international healthcare company serving over 38 million customers worldwide. With no shareholders, we reinvest profits into providing more and better healthcare for the benefit of current and future customers.
- We directly employ around 84,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Chile, Poland, New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, the US, Middle East and Ireland. We also have associate businesses in Saudi Arabia and India.
