General Hospital was an attempt to replicate the success of one of British television's first major soap operas, Emergency Ward 10.

The original theme music was "Girl in the White Dress" by the Derek Scott Orchestra which was used until 1975, when it was replaced by Johnny Pearson's "Red Alert" for the 60-minute episodes.

In 1972, ITV started to broadcast programmes on weekday afternoons, triggering a new wave of productions to fill in the extended schedules.

Among the first of these shows, which were aimed at giving advertisers access to housewives, were the long-running rural soap Emmerdale Farm (YTV) and the twice-weekly medical drama General Hospital.

While the location and the characters names had been changed, in most other respects General Hospital was almost identical to its predecessor, Emergency Ward 10, a deliberate attempt to recreate its success.