RPA (TV series)

RPA
Genre	Factual
Narrated by	Max Cullen
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	18
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sheryl Taylor (1995-1997)
Production location(s)	Sydney
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	Nine Network
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	1 February 1995 – 18 July 2012

RPA is an Australian reality television show that is filmed at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and shows the everyday workings of this major hospital in Sydney, Australia. Premiering in 1995, the programme is based on the British series Jimmy's which was filmed at St James's University Hospital in Leeds.

Format

For the majority of its thirteen-year run, each episode of RPA has run for half an hour. However, its initial 2007 run was broadcast in combined hour-long episodes, and its return later in the year saw it assume a permanent one hour timeslot. Operations are recorded on camera and the doctors provide commentary as they operate on patients.

A new RPA: Where Are They Now series, begun in 2007, runs for half an hour. It profiles the lives of patients who have previously appeared on RPA, recapping the original stories and showing follow-ups on the patients' lives or deaths following their initial appearance on the programme. Both series are narrated by Max Cullen.

A brand-new series of the medical/observational series aired on the Nine Network in October 2008. Max Cullen will continue to narrate. The program returned in February 2009 for another brand new series.

In 2012, the series returned to Nine on Wednesday, 30 May, at 9.30pm, with Australian actor and artist, Max Cullen again narrating.

Awards

RPA has been nominated for an award at the annual TV Week Logie Awards in every year since 2000 (eight times in succession); from 2000–2006, it was nominated in the Most Popular Reality Program category, while in 2007 it was nominated in the Most Outstanding Factual Series category. It won silver Logies at the 2000 and 2003 Logie Awards.

Other stories

A feature of RPA is its storyline nature, in that it has a strong emphasis on following the stories of patients throughout the series. Examples include Kenyan burns victim Safari, who appeared in every episode of the 2001 series and in an episode of RPA: Where Are They Now.

Chris O'Brien, a head and neck surgeon, appeared since the start of the show but retired after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in November, 2006. He recovered from his operation and his story was told on 60 Minutes.

A statement from Lifehouse at RPA on Thursday 4 June 2009 said the surgeon was nearing the end of his two-and-a-half year battle with the disease, and he was admitted to hospital on Wednesday 3 June. "Professor Chris O'Brien was last night admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after suffering a significant deterioration in his condition," Lifehouse said. He died on 4 June 2009, with the following episode of RPA dedicated to Professor O'Brien's work at the hospital and the show throughout the years

See also

• Kings Cross ER: St Vincent's Hospital
• Young Doctors
• Medical Emergency