NEED TO KNOW
- Former professional tennis player and now commentator Jelena Dokic stars in the upcoming season of The Hospital: In The Deep End.
- She tells New Idea she wants to champion healthcare workers after being on the frontline.
- Jelena made it known to producers that there were certain areas of the hospital that are important to her, and that she wanted to experience, including the family and domestic violence ward.
Healthcare workers aren’t credited enough for the work they do.
That’s the key message that Jelena Dokic is currently championing, after her personal experience in Australia’s healthcare system.
Jelena, 42, has stepped onto the frontline for the new season of SBS’s The Hospital: In the Deep End.
Joining her are food journalist Matt Preston and actress Ruby Rose.
During filming, Jelena spent time in different medical departments alongside the doctors, nurses, and social workers.
The former professional tennis player turned popular commentator didn’t do any research ahead of time as she “wanted to experience everything firsthand”.
“I didn’t run away from anything,” Jelena tells New Idea.
“I wanted to, but no matter how I felt, I wanted to be there. I didn’t know what that was going to look like, but I’m so glad I got that experience. It was hectic and nerve-wracking.”
When she signed on to the docuseries, Jelena made it known to producers that there were certain areas of the hospital that are important to her and that she wanted to experience.
“Family and domestic violence was massive for me, because of my long personal experience with it with my family and my father,” she says.
“It was incredibly important for me to see what’s available and how we deal with it. There are so many cases that come through the ER. Seeing one of the faces that came through, it was really hard and hit home.”
Jelena also wanted to highlight cancer after losing a boyfriend’s mother to the disease.
She was very close to the woman, calling her her “mother-in-law”, and says it was a “traumatic experience”.
“She died of cancer, and I saw that firsthand, the last five months, and what that looked like. That was horrific,” she says.
Just months after filming the show, Jelena found herself back in the hospital – this time, as a patient.
She was suffering from a large fibroid, a non-cancerous growth on her uterus, which was removed in December at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.
Jelena says being on The Hospital changed her forever, as she saw how much medical professionals go through, and what they face every day in the wards.
“I experienced incredible care by the doctors and nurses, and I couldn’t thank them enough,” she says.
“This is what we wanted to highlight in the show.”
The Hospital: In the Deep End S2 airs Thursdays from 5 March at 8:30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
