Despite having just made his debut in the upcoming documentary on the VGH emergency room (ER), Dr. Doug McKnight has already caught the bug.

“Well, my agent already has three scripts waiting for me to read,” the head of VGH’s ER says jokingly with a laugh. “We’ll see where it goes.”

Starting on January 21 on the Knowledge Network, the six-episode series called Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH follows ER staff, helping the sick and dying who come through emergency department doors on a daily basis.

For six months, a crew filmed around the VGH capturing some pretty dramatic moments.

“There are some superb moments they captured,” he says somewhat cryptically. “There are outstanding examples of how we work as a team in the ED. I think we are one of the best departments in Canada if not North America and this documentary is one way that demonstrates that level of excellent care we provide – how we work, the dedication.”

Dr. McKnight says that “the initial worry was the film crew might be  intrusive,” and he had to get used to having extra bodies in a very busy environment. But after a few days, the ED staff  became comfortable working with them around the department.

“Not only were they not intrusive, but they became almost invisible.”

He says that when the Knowledge Network approached with the idea, it was a fairly easy decision to let them in as the purpose of the documentary was to focus on the staff and the many challenges they faced on a daily basis.

Highlights the team

“This idea really resonated with me because the team at VGH and when I say the ‘team,’ I mean the entire institution, from top to bottom, does an outstanding job at providing care to acutely ill and injured people,” Dr. McKnight explains, who has been practising medicine for more than 35 years. “Conveying that message to all of British Columbia is very important because it’s something I’m very proud of – I’m proud of all the work the team does.”

Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH will air on Tuesday evenings at 9 pm. Watch the one minute preview on the Knowledge Network’s website.