It's a familiar sight: a crowded waiting room, trolleys in corridors, stressed doctors and nurses. But this isn't a typical A&E unit in the NHS, it's a Hollywood set with actors recreating the drama of an emergency department for TV series The Pitt. And among its biggest fans are real-life doctors.
"We finally feel validated for everything we go through every day," says Dr Tony Cirillo, President of the American College of Emergency Physicians. On Monday, The Pitt could become this year's most decorated series at the Emmys, America's most coveted TV honours, with 25 nominations. Doctors and others in the medical profession say, for them, it's the most realistic medical drama yet - which is why they love it.
The series covers the life and work of the staff of Pittsburgh's Trauma Medical Centre, with each episode representing an hour of a day and there are 15 in each series. A constant thread through each episode is the noise, the pace of activity and the constant demands on the staff who never seem to get a break. Complex procedures and life-saving interventions are shown in graphic, and often, gory detail.
The lead character Dr Michael Robinavitch, known as Dr Robby, is a hardened and highly experienced emergency medicine consultant (in US hospitals a senior emergency attending physician). Played by Noah Wyle, previously in the cast of mid-90s medical drama ER, he is an executive producer as well as part of the writing team, which includes qualified doctors. Wyle was invited to take part in a platform discussion at a prestigious conference with more than 6,000 emergency medicine experts in the audience.
"People came up to him and, as opposed to actors and athletes where they say they are amazing or love their work, people just said thank you to him," Cirillo says. "The Pitt is more than just a good TV show – the term I use is validation." Social and ethical issues are often reflected. A stressed daughter who is caring for her sick mother leaves her in the emergency department and then can't be found.
There are anguished conversations with parents who are desperate for their child to be kept alive, despite doctors saying there is no hope. Health inequalities are highlighted, with some patients struggling with the payments required in the US health system. Long waits and patient frustration are obvious shades of the NHS.
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