Malpractice: ‘Doctors are not trying to make your lives harder' says TV writer Grace Ofori-Attah

The hit show is back for a second series, with former NHS doctor and executive producer and writer, Grace Ofori-Attah (Boiling Point, Playing Nice), once again taking the helm. “We have Dr James Ford, who is a psychiatrist, who is coming to the end of a working day when he receives referrals for two patients, and he doesn’t necessarily make the right decision… or does he?” she says, explaining the premise for this season. “It all goes horribly wrong, and investigators sweep in and they gradually unpick his work, his life, and then we find out that maybe there’s something else going on.”

Series one, filmed in Yorkshire - the region where Ofori-Attah grew up, revolved around a malpractice case in A&E. So, for series two, shot in Belfast, she says: “I thought it’d be really cool to try and set this in the world of psychiatry, because that’s where I became a medical consultant, and the cases are no less fascinating.”

Tom Hughes, who’s starred in Victoria, plays Dr James Ford, a psychiatric registrar in a North Yorkshire hospital. His co-star, Helen Behan, who’s appeared in The Virtues, takes on the role of Dr Norma Callahan, who is tasked with investigating Ford’s situation, along with Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé).

Having starred in the first series, Behan is thrilled to be back. “It’s such a gift to get a second series, because you can really dig in and develop that character. [Norma’s] become more three-dimensional. She’s not just this work-hungry robot and that was really fantastic. To be able to have a second crack at a character when they’re under your skin, and you know them really well, is a great opportunity.”

While most Brits revere the NHS, almost everyone has an opinion on the state it’s currently in, whether it’s the long waiting lists, doctors strikes or the difficulty in pinning down a GP appointment. For Ofori-Attah, Malpractice presented a rare chance to present the medical professionals’ side. “I feel like often doctors are either depicted as saintly figures, or are demonised for not being able to get anything right,” she says.

“There’s often no more rational middle ground. I just wanted to really show a doctor who is human and responding to patients in a system that ultimately isn’t necessarily fit for purpose.” Dr Ford’s story is a way to help people understand “what it’s like to try and make the right decision for your patient, and to try and keep things going in a positive way when you feel that things are certain to fail around you.”

She says it’s a “privilege” to represent her profession. “I read all these articles about doctors, and it’s hard not to have an emotional reaction to them,” she explains. “Doctors are going to work to try and do their best. They’re not trying to make your lives harder. Nobody trains to do that.”

A major theme of this series is perinatal care, an area of medicine that Ofori-Attah was “shocked” to realise was a “postcode lottery” for women when it comes to the services available. “It’s such an important area in terms of future development of your child, because if the mother isn’t mentally well in those early weeks and months, it can come to devastating effects,” she says. “I’m hoping we get some real conversations about how hard it can be as a new mum.”

The storyline really struck a chord with Behan, a former nurse and mum of four. “Women are great maskers, and they feel that they have to keep home and keep family and keep work and not falter,” she says. “Those initial weeks postpartum are so difficult, especially with the first baby. Your world is turned upside down, and other people seem to be getting on with their lives in a way that yours has just stopped. You feel, if you say, ‘I’m really struggling,’ then maybe that’s perceived as you’re not coping, and may not be a good mother...I think women who are suffering tend to keep quiet about it until they break. It’s an area that absolutely needs more attention.”

During filming, there were midwife consultants on set and some of the midwives viewers can spot in the background of a scene are quite often real midwives. Zoë Telford – who plays consultant psychiatrist Dr Kate McAllister and spent a lot of time on set quizzing Ofori-Attah on her experiences as a consultant psychiatrist – found the way the show portrays the role and struggles of the NHS, particularly moving.

“It’s a thriller, but it’s set within a very authentic setting,” says the actor, known for appearing in The Thick Of It and The Lazarus Project. “It is, broadly speaking, a study of moral ambiguity and the grey areas. Like all good pieces of drama, it’s not just good and bad. Often in life, it’s the grey areas that we all reside in.

“These are good people, smart people, but they’re all up against it, they’ve got their backs up against the wall, and inevitably, in those situations, people make the wrong decisions because they’re under pressure and sometimes they’re tragic ones with fatal consequences,” she continues.

What’s particularly powerful is that the scripts are “drawn from real experience”. “Some of the more tragic parts of our story, whilst they’re very rare within the NHS, they do happen, and they happen because of the chronic underfunding, lack of resources and lack of support,” says Telford. Malpractice will hopefully encourage us all to give the NHS, and the people working within it, a little more grace.

Malpractice returned on ITV1 at 9pm yesterday, with the second episode airing today and the third tomorrow, before continuing next week.