Malpractice may open the public’s eyes to what goes on behind the scenes in the nation’s hospitals

Is the Great British medical drama in rude health, or could it use a shot in the arm?

Casualty is still going strong, although it lost its sister show Holby City a year ago. ITV1 launched its own entry in the genre, Maternal, in January, but despite having a strong cast, headed by Parminder Nagra, Lara Pulver and Lisa McGrillis, it failed to capture the nation’s imagination.

Despite the broadcaster claiming that “everyone who watched the series really loved it,” bosses had made the “very difficult decision” not to bring it back. “We really wanted to commission a second series,” claimed an ITV spokesperson. “But the audience didn’t come to the drama in the numbers we’d hoped for.”

That perhaps doesn’t bode well for Malpractice, another medical show now heading our way. However, it claims to be a thriller than a drama, so perhaps that will entice more people to tune in – or catch up with it via streaming service ITVX.

The plot is certainly hugely promising. It follows the story of Dr Lucinda Edwards, a dedicated and experienced medical professional; we meet her just as she’s facing the shift from hell – it ends with the death of Edith Owusu, a patient admitted due to an opioid overdose. Despite receiving support from her supervisor, Lucinda’s future career is called into question after Edith’s grief-stricken father, Sir Anthony Owusu, demands an investigation into her conduct.

Taking charge of the proceedings are Lucinda’s former colleague, Dr George Adjei and Dr Norma Callahan, who’s a stranger to her. While one can’t find anything wrong in what she did, the other grows increasingly suspicious of her actions leading up to the tragedy. Could she be hiding something?

As the investigation rumbles on, the pressure begins to mount, and it’s not only the doctor’s professional life that comes under stress, her marriage begins to fall apart too.

As with the BBC’s recent crime drama Better, Malpractice has been filmed in and around Leeds. Among its stars as James Purefoy and Brian Bovell, but it’s Niamh Algar who heads the cast as Lucinda.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this project,” said the Bafta-nominated star when it was announced last summer. “I was blown away by Grace Ofori-Attah’s script. I’m a huge fan of director Phil Barantini’s work; his movie Boiling Point is an astonishing piece of work and I’m so excited to see how he approaches Malpractice. I’m absolutely over the moon that we are working together.”

Executive producer Simon heath adds: “Grace’s brilliant scripts combine a searing insight into the pressures and politics of hospital life with a gripping thriller.”

Debut writer Ofori-Attah worked as an NHS doctor for more than a decade before putting pen to paper, so there’s an extra degree of authenticity about her work. At a time when the health service and its staff are under more strain than ever, it’s certainly a topical broadcast that may open the public’s eyes to what goes on behind the scenes in the nation’s hospitals – and one that might prove there’s still life in the medical drama yet.