Five NHS workers will meet former Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray after winning a surprise draw as part of a celebration of 75 years of the health service.
Wimbledon invited 75 staff members from nearby St George’s Hospital to enjoy the tournament on Wednesday and kicked off celebrations with a breakfast in the LTA Advantage Lounge under Court One.
Cheers and applause rang out after each name was called to meet Sir Andy.
One of the lucky five who will meet the tennis star, Delroy Harris, who is in his 30s, said: “He is literally someone I have always looked up to – Wimbledon winner.”
Wimbledon chief medical officer Dr Fenella Wrigley thanked attendees for all they do, remarking on the “incredibly difficult” last few years through the pandemic and industrial action.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Wrigley explained that every year she takes two weeks of leave from her roles as chief medical officer for the London Ambulance Service (LAS) and A&E consultant at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel to work at Wimbledon.
She said on site medical staff most often tend to hay fever, slip and trip injuries and headaches from spending too much time in the sun.
She explained spectators often do not realise how many flowers and how much grass there is in the tournament grounds and end up seeking treatment for hay fever.
Dr Wrigley added that the team was not as busy on Tuesday because people tend to stay more still in the rain and there is less pollen around.
Asked if there are contingencies in place if a large number of people were to be injured at once, the doctor said the team is supported by the LAS and St John Ambulance and do “a lot of planning about how we would evacuate people”.
Wimbledon have three first aid centres and a pharmacy on site as well as 45 first aiders, emergency medicine consultants, GPs, sports doctors, paramedics, nurses and physiotherapists.
