Anna Daly has had her fair share of live broadcasts, so she's not likely to get shaky knees on live television. But her latest project, the ambitious live show Hospital Live, is just the kind of challenge she's been waiting for.
"I had said recently enough that TV that I want to do in the future needs to be really engaging. I kind of put that out there", she told RTÉ Lifestyle.
"I would love to work on projects that I'm passionate about, whether you're learning from them or you're being entertained by them, or they're making you think, or they're creating those kind of water cooler moments in offices or workplaces or whatever on the bus the next day. And what I love is if people ended up saying things like, I learned that on Hospital Live."
Presented by Philip Boucher-Hayes and Anna Daly, Hospital Live is a live TV event that showcases a range of Irish medical innovations and breakthroughs and imagines what healthcare might look like in the future. Taking place across three days, from the 24th-26th May, it'll go behind the headlines to see what healthcare is like in Ireland right now.
Broadcasting from a purpose-built set on the exterior grounds of St. James' Hospital in Dublin, Philip Boucher-Hayes and Anna Daly, meet patients and innovators at the cutting edge of Irish medical science. Live cameras will also bring stories from hospitals and medical centres around the country.
The real focus of this show, however, is "innovation", Daly says. "Yes, we are focusing on the lives of everyone, from the porter to the patient to the doctor who may have saved your life or the person who brought you the tea and toast after a very difficult morning in the hospital.
"It's about those people, but it's also there's a real focus on pioneering treatments, whether it's a little baby who's getting this incredible cutting edge eye surgery to the man who's responsible for a treatment where cancer patients will no longer lose their hair."
Daly says that this kind of cutting-edge medicine is rarely thought of as being available and thriving in anywhere but the United States or further afield, but Hospital Live aims to put a spotlight on the professionals pushing the boundaries at home.
Coming off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a stronger sense of awareness of our healthcare system, its challenges, its needs, its efforts and its heroes, which is something Daly senses too. "Luke O'Neill has become this kind of rock star in Ireland", she notes. "He was the voice of reason. He was the voice of stability, and he still smiled and gave us some hope as well."
Of course, not everyone is going to have solely positive experiences of hospitals and Daly is no different. "They're not places I look forward to being in", she says, but she reflects on the times she has been there she's felt incredibly supported by them.
"Maybe that's because my experience of hospitals has been quite limited in my personal experience. It's been about having babies.
"I was overwhelmed by everyone from the consultant who you barely see, which suited me down to the ground because they often say if you don't see the consultants, that's kind of a good thing, to the midwife who I would have been hugging like I hugging a long lost mother or something, because you only know them a few hours.
"I would have always felt like they were places that you can trust."
Alongside the live reporting that Daly and Boucher-Hayes will be carrying out, there will be clips from hospitals across the country, where surgeries have been performed with a small and sensitive crew inside the theatre.
Is there someone in a hospital around the country who you'd like to say a big THANK YOU to?
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) May 20, 2022
We'd like to thank as many people as we can, next week on Hospital Live. Anna Daly has the all the info here! 🏥💚
#HospitalLive | @daly_anna | @boucherhayes pic.twitter.com/uqLsftykKh
One area of innovation Daly is keen to point to is the maxillofacial unit in St. James, where they follow the story of a woman who has had her entire nose replaced. "This is a hugely sensitive case where this woman is happy to share her story in order to showcase the level of talent in St. James's in Dublin."
The human interest story is also what drew Daly to the project, and they'll be front and centre throughout the show, she says. "They are the moments where you stand with your coffee in your kitchen and stare at the telly because you're now invested in their story, where you want to hear the end of their journey, you want to know what happened next. And I love that element of television."
As for how she'll keep her cool on the set in St. James, Daly's assured by the amount of heavy research and consideration from producers that has gone into sharing these incredible stories. "I feel like I'm in very safe hands with them", she says.
"And I supposed if I do faint I'm in the right place!"
Hospital Live airs at 7 pm on 24th, 25th 26th May on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player.
