Dr Amal Lad is a GP and musician treating general and performance specific physical and mental health problems. This would include depression, anxiety, musculoskeletal pain and all problems normally assessed and treated in general practice. He is passionate about finding new ways to support people working in the performing arts. He is also musician and he has composed music for a number of projects including film, theatre and released his personal music on streaming platforms which can be found on his website. Currently, Amal is preparing the release of new experimental music, while continuing his work in medicine.
“As a musician, I have a deep understanding and appreciation for mental and physical wellbeing in order to be able to create music. Creativity empowers me and is needed for personal wellbeing.”
Amal is British Indian and a trustee of South Asian Health Foundation (SAHF) – a charity addressing health inequalities in the South Asian community, where he is involved in the SAHF fellowship and community engagement working group.
BAPAM Assessing Clinician and NHS GP experienced advising performing arts professionals and students about all work/study-related problems. Safeguarding lead for BAPAM.
Dr Sriskantharajah Arun-Castro is a GP with a background in Emergency Medicine and considerable experience of medical provision at major festivals, concerts and sporting events.
He has worked as a doctor in pre-hospital care teams at Glastonbury, Reading and Download Festivals as well as London Stadium.
As a festival doctor he became more aware of the physical and mental strains experienced by performing artists ranging from fatigue to acute pain and stress reactions on tour. This experience piqued his interest in the wellbeing of performers and lead to his involvement with BAPAM.
He has experience in musculoskeletal health and continues to work in elite sport providing medical cover for professional rugby and motor racing at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit .
He is familiar with the assessment and initial management of issues such as repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, upper and lower limb musculoskeletal conditions, insomnia, anxiety and depression, adjustment reactions, acute and chronic pain management and assessment of fatigue.
During lockdown 2020, Arun contributed as an editor and chapter author to the Music Industry Therapists Collective’s Touring & Mental Health Manual http://musicindustrytherapists.com .
As a hobby he hosts the The Roadie Medic Podcast that takes a look at the merging scenes of live music, festivals, pre-hospital care and public health.
He is British Asian (Sri Lankan) and is interested in diversity, world music & second and third generation migrant experiences. He is an NHS GP for patients registered at Victoria Medical Centre in Pimlico, and a BAPAM Assessing GP.
Dr Christine Hunter has considerable experience as a health adviser to musicians, creative professionals and performance students. She is an NHS and BAPAM GP in Belfast and the Medical Adviser to the Ulster Orchestra.
Performing Arts Medicine GP assessments at the BAPAM Clinic at Birmingham Conservatoire. Grade 8 singer, piano player and violinist. Assessments and management advice for mental health and physical problems of students and professionals in the performing arts.
Dr Fozia Hamid combines her clinical expertise and interest in music and the performing arts in her work at BAPAM, where she advises professional and student performers and creative practitioners about a wide spectrum of physical and mental health concerns relating to their work. She is an NHS GP based in London.
BAPAM Assessing Clinician advising performing arts professionals and students about all work/study-related problems. Also an NHS GP.
NHS GP and Medical Adviser to the South Bank Sinfonia.
Dr McKavanagh is an NHS and BAPAM GP who holds BAPAM clinics in Liverpool and Manchester and helps artists and creative practitioners with a range of physical and mental health concerns. She is a graduate of the UCL Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme.
She is an experienced Doctor who has worked in the NHS for 35 years, and also a performing musician who has performed in solo recitals, and worked as an accompanist for ABRSM and LCM music examinations. She holds an LTCL in Piano Performance and has played violin, viola, clarinet, celtic harp and vibraphone in the past. She have also sung soprano in a chamber choir for the past 20 years.
Special interests include disorders affecting instrumental musicians, particularly overuse musculoskeletal and neurological injuries, focal musicians dystonias and cognitive, hearing and other sensory conditions,sexual and reproductive health and travel medicine.
GP working in community psychiatry. Special interest in mental health in the arts, as well as nutrition and lifestyle. Worked as a theatre costume designer before training as a doctor. Keen singer and instrumentalist who works with Jazz North East. Works within the NHS in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and is the BAPAM GP at our clinic at the Sage, Gateshead.
Dr Nina Amedzro is an experienced NHS GP and a BAPAM Assessing Clinician in the Northeast, Yorkshire & Humberside. She has a special interest in performers’ health. A musician herself, who attended a specialist music school and played in youth orchestras. Since qualifying as a doctor in 2003, she has helped many performance professionals and students with physical and mental health concerns including musculoskeletal pains, poor posture, performance anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, tinnitus, vocal problems and hearing issues.
“Working with BAPAM lets me unite my passion for music and performance with my skills as an experienced GP, so that musicians can access good healthcare and enjoy health and wellbeing".
In her spare time, Nina enjoys watching her favourite bands, discovering new music and playing in a local amateur orchestra.
BAPAM and NHS GP. Advises all performing arts professionals and students about work-related health problems, and is a graduate of the UCL Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme. NHS practice at Grove Surgery, Thetford (only NHS patients registered at the practice can be seen here).
NHS and private GP and Occupational Health Physician who has worked at BAPAM London as an Assessing Clinician advising performing arts professionals and students about all work/study-related problems. AMABO Medical Adviser to the Philharmonia Orchestra. Keen clarinet player who has played and toured with orchestras including the World Doctors Orchestra.
Dr Pippa Wheble is an NHS and BAPAM GP, and a graduate of the Performing Arts Medicine MSc programme at UCL. She has special interests in anxiety management and breathing techniques. Her other interests in the context of General Practice include holistic and integrated health care, occupational health, women's health, ophthalmology. She is a keen singer and instrumentalist, playing violin, viola, saxophone and piano, and she has also trained in dance. She is a BAPAM assessing clinician and the lead facilitator for our Community Drop In peer support sessions.
Dr Tamara Cohen is a GP and health coach with a special interest in mental health, functional medicine and the performing arts. She holds a free clinic at BAPAM for professional and student creative practitioners and is a member of the BAPAM Medical Committee. She is also a singer, performer and member of an amateur musical theatre company, therefore has personal experience of the joys and anxieties within the field. She also consults on sexual health, gynaecology, pre-screening for cruise ship work, joint injuries, fatigue, hypermobility.