Holby
Holby is the name of the fictional city in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and the short lived police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border[1]. While Casualty is filmed on location in Bristol, Holby City is filmed in Elstree, Hertfordshire. Both shows are set in the same fictional Holby City Hospital, with storylines focusing on the Emergency, General and Cardiothoracic surgical departments, an Acute Assessment Unit, and the fictional Holby Ambulance Service.
Holby City Hospital
Holby City Hospital is the fictional hospital in which Casualty and Holby City are set. It is based on the Bristol Royal Infirmary where the original script writers went to observe to garner ideas for Casualty in the 1980s.[2] Although both shows are set in the same hospital, Casualty is primarily filmed in Bristol, while Holby City is filmed in Hertfordshire at the BBC's Elstree Studios.[3] The indoor shots for the first series of Casualty were filmed at BBC Television Centre in London.[4] The exterior shots of the hospital used in Casualty were formerly filmed at the City of Bristol College, but are now shot on an industrial estate at 51°27′33″N 2°34′01″W / 51.459094°N 2.567030°W, close to the interior set of the hospital.[5] It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC is considering moving the filming of Casualty to studios in Cardiff. On 26 March 2009, the BBC confirmed the move. [6]
Wards and departments
As of 2002, four main wards have formed the focus of storylines within the hospital. In Casualty, the primary location is the hospital's Emergency Department (formerly referred to as Accident and Emergency). Holby City is set between the hospital's Acute Assessment Unit, and Keller and Darwin wards, providing General and Cardiothoracic surgical care respectively. Recently Holby expanded by adding "Holby Care", a private healthcare ward led by Michael Spence. Former storylines have also focused around the hospital's Otter ward, providing paediatric care, as well as its maternity ward. Otter ward has not featured in the show since series 4, whilst the maternity ward ceased usage as a primary location in series 8; despite no longer being seen on-screen, both of these wards are still occasionally referred to in dialogue.
Hospital Senior Staff
- Chairman, Holby City NHS Trust: Terence Cunningham
- Chief Executive Officer: Vanessa Lytton
- Deputy CEO: Davina Mackenzie
- Director of Critical Care: Prof. Henry Williams
- Director of Surgery: Michael Spence
- Director of Robotics: Connie Beauchamp
Heads Of Departments
- General Surgery: Ric Griffin
- Cardiothoracic Surgery: Connie Beauchamp (Clinical Lead)
- Emergency Department: Adam Trueman (Clinical Lead)
- Surgical Admissions Unit: Linden Cullen
- Anaesthetics: Paul Rose
- Intensive Care: Keith Greene
- Neurosurgery: Sarah Evans
- Histology: Dominic Bidwell [7]
Holby Ambulance Service
Holby Ambulance Service is the fictional ambulance service which serves Holby City Hospital - also appearing in the two hospital dramas Casualty and Holby City. The vehicles and uniforms used on the shows derive from Great Western Ambulance Service, which serves Bristol where Casualty is filmed. Paramedic advisors working on the show are often from Great Western Ambulance Service.[8] Although the ambulance service is only seen in Holby City very rarely, Casualty has featured paramedic characters since the show's 1986 conception.[9]
Holby South
Holby south is the fictional police station Holby Blue was based from in its two season run.
References
- ^ "Casualty - Fast Facts". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ Hilary Kingsley(1995) Casualty The Inside Story, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-024902-8
- ^ Juliette Garside (2007-10-21). "EastEnders evicted in latest BBC cost cut". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ Rachel Silver(1998) Casualty, Behind The Scenes, BBC Books, ISBN 0-563-38467-0
- ^ "Casualty Filming Locations, IMDB". URL last accessed 2008-04-22
- ^ "Press Office - BBC confirms Casualty move from Bristol to Cardiff area". BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "Casualty - Script for S22 E25" (PDF). BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ "Clive Haddrell Paramedic Adivsor, Great Western Ambulance Service, IMDB". URL last accessed 2008-04-22
- ^ "Casualty Characters". URL last accessed 2008-04-21