History of the National Health Service Emergency Ward 10 was first broadcast in 1957 on ITV and ran until 1967 and followed the life and loves of the staff and patients of the fictionalised Oxbridge General. ITV later followed this up with General Hospital which borrowed much from Emergency Ward 10 in terms of its themes and focus. The idea of a medical hospital as a suitable and popular setting for a soap opera continued to take root in the 1980s. Casualty, set in an A&E department, was first broadcast in 1986 and has since become the longest running medical drama in the world. At a
General Hospital aired on April 6, 2013, in honor of "General Hospital"s 50th anniversary. It focused on the entire history of the soap, including interviews of stars and clips from the series. On September 5, 2014, "General Hospital Now" was announced as a new Variety Show/Soap web series airing exclusively on ABC.com hosted by longtime cast member Nancy Lee Grahn featuring appearances by the rest of the General Hospital Cast as well as Special Guests beginning in January 2015. On May 15 and 18, 2015, "General Hospital" aired two live episodes as part of its 52nd anniversary celebration, using the hashtag #GHLive