What exactly is "Hospital Radio"?

Throughout the UK there are over 11,500 volunteers involved in providing an essential and very exclusive radio and in some cases, TV service to Hospital patients

The benefit hospital radio provides to both patients and staff is well recognised by the Department of Health and local hospitals encourage and support most stations in some form.

Over 90% of the country's hospital population have the benefit of hospital broadcasting. This means that over 18 million people can hear specially produced local programmes every year.

Over 300 individual broadcasting stations provide these programmes, each to its own local hospital(s) usually at times when there is less ward activity or other distractions to help relieve the boredom and isolation a period of hospitalization causes.

Hospital Radio has been around in the UK for the best part of the 20th Century and into the 21st, and the service it provides today is just as much needed and appreciated as it was when it was first introduced in the 1920's. Although advances in technology have seen changes in the way programmes are broadcast most services use a closed circuit system utilizing the headphones beside each patient's bed. Some stations broadcast on low power AM or FM transmitters. Whatever the means of distributing the programme, the service is exclusively for the patients in that station's locality.

Hospital Radio provides a unique service not available from any other source. The programmes are carefully produced to reflect the needs of the audience. They ensure that the patient is kept in touch with their local community, family and friends in a way no other broadcast medium can attain. Hospital Radio stations raise their own funds to provide the service they offer from within the local community they serve. Whilst some help may be forthcoming from local NHS Trusts the group will have to work to raise funds in order to maintain the service they provide.

Chippenham Hospital Radio produces live broadcasts to the Chippenham Community Hospital. Funds are being sought to extend the service to cover the Casualty department and the restaurant. Eventually we hope to spread our coverage to the "cottage hospitals" in the surrounding area.