Holby fictional hospital within the city in which "Casualty" and "Holby City" are set. It is based on the Bristol Royal Infirmary which the original script writers spent time observing in the 1980s in order to garner ideas for "Casualty". Although both shows are set in the same hospital, "Casualty" is primarily filmed in Cardiff, whilst "Holby City" is filmed in Hertfordshire at BBC Elstree Centre. 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;
Holby City describing real nursing work in contrast as "very post-watershed". In November 2009, Antony Sumara, CEO of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, wrote a column criticising "Holby City" for misrepresenting real hospital life. Tom Sutcliffe of "The Independent" reviewed a December 2009 episode poorly, finding it "astonishing" that any patients leave Holby General alive, as the staff are "so busy looking stricken or lovelorn at each other". In December 2003, "The Times" Libby Purves wrote a critical opinion piece, observing that "Holby City" medical staff are often depicted getting drunk in clubs, but afterwards are able to function properly