Holby City (series 12) CEO of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, wrote a column criticizing "Holby City" and "Casualty" for misrepresenting real hospital life. Based on Sumara's critisim, Carol Cooper of "The Sun" wrote an article assessing an episode of the show for its medical portrayal, and found that while Elliot Hope and Oliver Valentine demonstrated "excellent" bedside manner, several medical examinations and procedures were carried out incorrectly, including staff members failing to call a pediatrician before performing an emergency Caesarean. Sophie Borland of the "Daily Mail" highlighted the crossover storyline with "Casualty" as an example of "Holby City" lack of realism,
Holby City is limited to "accident of the week" storylines about patients entering hospital, "Holby City" allowed the possibility of storylines about long-term care, rather than immediate life and death decisions. The series was commissioned by BBC One Controller Peter Salmon, and began airing on BBC One on 12 January 1999. Series producer Richard Stokes believes that the series' popularity stems from the fact the hospital setting presents numerous plotline opportunities, explaining: "You have licence to create life-and-death situations every week, something you cannot do in any other set piece. The interaction of the characters can be sexy and social issues also