Emergency department

The emergency department (ED) of Holby City Hospital is an accident and emergency ward encompassing several resuscitation sections, triage, cubicles, a walk-in centre, clinical decisions unit (CDU) and multiple executive conference rooms. The ED was built alongside the rest of the hospital in, or prior to, the early 1970s. It has been remodelled since its initial construction several times.

The current Clinical Lead in the emergency department is Connie Beachump who reports directly to the hospital's chief executive officer. Responsible for the ED, walk-in centre and CDU, the Clinical Lead was a position established by the hospital's senior management team in 2002.

In 2018, a new trauma theatre was opened for the ED for patients needing emergency life-saving surgery.

Remodelling
There was an explosion in 1993 (Series 7) which destroyed the entrance and the ground floor, resulting in a complete redesign and re-layout of the affected areas. In Series 14 the new resuscitation room was being built in the ED with it being first used in Episode 10 of the series. In 2002, a car crashed into the entrance and destroyed the exterior, which resulted in minor repairs. The next major renovation of the department came in December 2011 when a fire broke out, which resulted in the destruction of the majority of the building. (CAS: "Next of Kin - Part Two") It was officially opened around a month later following extensive building work and repairs. The remodelling encompassed new CT scanning rooms and a peace garden outside.

The ED was renovated over the Christmas period of 2013, but this primarily consisted of minor remodelling of the reception area. Resus was also moved with this refurbishment, as well as a new layout of various other areas being introduced. (CAS: "Between the Cracks") Towards the end of 2015, building work took place to replace the peace garden with a paved area. Since then, it's been used for small food and drink carts. On the day of Charlie's 30th-anniversary celebrations, a helicopter crashed into the entrance of the building and destroyed part of reception as well as the exterior of the ED. The walk-in centre was under refurbishment and was also damaged in the crash. (CAS: "Too Old for This Shift") However, by March 2017, construction on the new entrance had been completed and was fully functional. (CAS: "The Good Samaritan")

Current layout
The ED is located at the back of the hospital next to the fracture clinic and opposite the day care unit. The entrance to the department is round the back, along with the ambulance bay. Upon entering the ED, the reception area is adjacent to the entrance. Resus is located directly to the left. Further into the department on the left is triage, Connie's office, the staff room, the CT scanner and some cubicles. Adjacent to Connie's office is Admin. Behind reception and to the right is where the majority of the rest of the cubicles are located. Directly to the right after entering the ED is the toilets, coffee shop and relatives room. Also, in reception are the stairs leading to the first floor. On the first floor, the meeting rooms are located directly to the right. Going down the corridor, there is Dylan's office, the on call room and the first floor pharmacy. There's also a lift which connects to the ground floor and also an open floor giving a direct view of the corridor below.

Staff

 * See also: Category:Present characters

Behind the scenes
It is based on the Bristol Royal Infirmary where the original script writers went to observe to garner ideas for Casualty in the 1980s. Although both shows are set in the same hospital, Casualty is primarily filmed in Cardiff, whilst Holby City is filmed in Hertfordshire at the BBC's Elstree Studios. The indoor shots for the first series of Casualty were filmed at BBC Television Centre in London. The exterior shots of the hospital used in Casualty were formerly filmed at the City of Bristol College.