Great Ormond Street (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Great Ormond Street is a British
television documentary series. It was first broadcast on BBC Two
on 6 April 2010. Each episode focuses on a different department at the world famous Great Ormond Street Hospital
.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is a hospital specialising in the care of children in the district of Bloomsbury
, Central London
. It was founded in 1852 as the Hospital for Sick Children, making it the first hospital providing in-patient beds specifically for children in the English-speaking world. Today, the hospital still engages in pioneering work in children's medicine.
The hospital works with the UCL Institute of Child Health
, and is the largest centre for research into childhood illness outside the United States and Canada, and a major international trainer of medical professionals.
This television series was filmed over the course of a year and features unprecedented access to health professionals as they make some of the hardest choices in medicine. In this series cameras followed Great Ormond Street Hospital's medical professionals into the meetings where they come face to face with the most difficult ethical dilemmas on a daily basis.
of The Independent
wrote that the series was "distinguished by the attention it paid to the limits of medical expertise". Ceri Radford writing for The Daily Telegraph
called the series "excellent" and added that "the sensitivity of [the] programme saved it from feeling voyeuristic". John Crace
of The Guardian
said that the documentary "exposed us to the existential questions that doctors face on a daily basis – and which most documentaries avoid", while Andrew Billen of The Times
called it "extraordinarily frank". Jane Simon for The Daily Mirror said that the programme was "made with great sensitivity" and Paul Whitelaw
, writing for The Scotsman
called the series "A sensitive study of tragedy and hope".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television documentary series. It was first broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 6 April 2010. Each episode focuses on a different department at the world famous Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
.
Background
Great Ormond Street Hospital is a hospital specialising in the care of children in the district of Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. It was founded in 1852 as the Hospital for Sick Children, making it the first hospital providing in-patient beds specifically for children in the English-speaking world. Today, the hospital still engages in pioneering work in children's medicine.
The hospital works with the UCL Institute of Child Health
UCL Institute of Child Health
The UCL Institute of Child Health is an academic department of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of University College London located in London, United Kingdom. It is a leading biomedical research centre and has a history in children's medical research which dates back to its founding.ICH...
, and is the largest centre for research into childhood illness outside the United States and Canada, and a major international trainer of medical professionals.
This television series was filmed over the course of a year and features unprecedented access to health professionals as they make some of the hardest choices in medicine. In this series cameras followed Great Ormond Street Hospital's medical professionals into the meetings where they come face to face with the most difficult ethical dilemmas on a daily basis.
Episodes
The series consisted of three one hour programmes and each episode focussed on a separate department within the hospital.| Episode | Title | Directed by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
Reception
Great Ormond Street received positive reviews. Tom SutcliffeTom Sutcliffe (broadcaster)
Thomas Sutcliffe is a British journalist and arts broadcaster.Sutcliffe studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
wrote that the series was "distinguished by the attention it paid to the limits of medical expertise". Ceri Radford writing for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
called the series "excellent" and added that "the sensitivity of [the] programme saved it from feeling voyeuristic". John Crace
John Crace
John Crace may refer to:*John Dibblee Crace, British interior designer*John Gregory Crace , English interior designer*Sir John Gregory Crace, British rear admiral*John Crace , British journalist...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said that the documentary "exposed us to the existential questions that doctors face on a daily basis – and which most documentaries avoid", while Andrew Billen of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called it "extraordinarily frank". Jane Simon for The Daily Mirror said that the programme was "made with great sensitivity" and Paul Whitelaw
Paul Whitelaw
Paul Erskine Whitelaw, born on 10 February 1910 and died at Auckland on 28 August 1988, was a cricketer who played for Auckland and New Zealand....
, writing for The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
called the series "A sensitive study of tragedy and hope".