LIFE ON THE WARDS, RTE2, THURSDAY 9.30PM

Using a formula similar to that of the excellent Keeping Ireland Alive, screened two autumns ago, this four-part film examines the experiences of staff and patients at the Rotunda in Dublin, the world’s longest-running hospital, over a 21-day period.

More than a million Dubliners have been born here, so much joy has abounded within its walls.

But the film portrays the hospital as a place of extreme highs and devastating lows. In the first edition, Kay, a grandmother, accompanies her daughter to the labour ward and we meet Shauna and Daryl, who are expecting their first child.