The real Dr.Ross

On any given evening when the doors of the Cook County Hospital Trauma Unit crash open, the duty surgeon can face anything from a pregnant woman shot in crossfire between rival street gangs to a thug with multiple stab-wounds.

Loud, busy and with lots of blood and yelling — that’s the gritty reality of the renowned Chicago Trauma Unit which inspired the acclaimed medical drama ER and which for many years was headed by Cork-born surgeon and gunshot wounds expert Dr John Barrett.

“Most of the poor people in the city live on the west and south sides, and trauma is endemic among that population,” explains Barrett.