Medico at the matches

"The perks of the job allow me entry to areas prohibited to the public and be in close proximity to the elite, both players and public,” explains Dr Mickey Adagra, medical officer for Lords Cricket Ground and the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Association. "Having gone through a rigorous process of selection,” he takes his voluntary duties seriously for "I could be called to deal with any injury or illness, both on and off the field of play. As health and safety demands a doctor is present from the time the crowd is allowed into the stadium to the time they leave, it can be a very long day,” he related.
After working independently as a medical practitioner in Belvedere for 25 years, Adagra formed a partnership with two other medical practitioners in 2006, functioning from four sites and treating 12,000 patients, as notes his curriculum vitae. An active member of his Local Medical Committee (LMC) for the last 22 years, for 12 years he served as president of the Bexley LMC that looks after the welfare of nearly 120 general practitioners in Bexley and negotiates with the local authority on their behalf. He also enjoys the distinction of being appointed by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service to advise on clinical matters relating to appeals by the public.

Dr Mickey Adagra at Wimbledon: proximity to players and the public

Further he has served the Bexley Care Trust (BCT) in different positions: as member of the Exceptional Treatment Priority Committee, the Performance Panel and the Professional Executive Committee. Besides functioning as clinical adviser to the Service Development Department of BCT he performed similar duties at Primary Care Trusts (PCT) in South East London, Kent and Essex. At PCTs in Greenwich, Kensington, Chelsea, Westminster, South Essex and Brom­ley, Adagra was medical adviser to complaints conveners. Another responsible post he held was as medical director of GRABADOC, the local out-of-hours provider. Accredited as a general practitioner with special interest in male health, particularly erectile dysfunction, he runs a specialist clinic where patients may be referred from Bexley and Greenwich.
This alumnus of St Mary’s School and Grant Medical College in Bombay initially gained experience at the Grant Medical Teaching Hospital and the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital before joining a private and state insurance scheme general practice situated in the Dharavi slum area. Concurrently he served as chief medical officer to the Swadeshi Mills with a staff of over 4,000 members. At the age of 30 he proceeded to UK to work as trainee general practitioner in Hertfordshire before joining a three-member practice in the Abbey Wood/Belvedere area.
Adagra’s son Carl practices as a veterinarian in Australia, specializing in feline medicine and is attached to The James Cook University in Townsville. Besides teaching students, he sets questions for their written papers and examines them for their viva voce. Happy to report that Carl is an ervad, Adagra also mentions how he found solace in getting nirangdin ceremonies performed for his mother Naju and father Bahadur at the Banaji Limji Agiary. "I owe my success in life to them as they were a great guiding hand and a source of inspiration to me,” he acknowledges.
Proud of his Parsi roots, Adagra mentions that he "does not miss any opportunity to educate others on our faith. Although I believe in healthy debate, I sometimes despair at the petty arguments among the community which take up a lot of energy and distract from the need to keep a united front in this difficult world.”
The 64-year-old doctor who was a scout master of the 51st West Bombay Scout Group is fond of traveling and considers himself fortunate to have visited all five continents. He finds "riding my motorbike in the English countryside on a warm, sunny day…very exhilarating. Less energetically, I collect old clocks and antique furniture and enjoy listening to classical music.”