There are lots of events and publicity planned around the UK this week...

Rookwood Sound Hospital Radio - The Rt. Hon. Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff has accepted the offer to become the patron of the Award Winning Rookwood Sound Hospital Radio service, which broadcasts to Rookwood & Llandough Hospitals. The Lord Mayor was interviewed as part of the special programmes during this week "Barry Island Discs" where he was asked to choose a number of tunes to take to his desert island.

Plenty of mentions all week on Terry Wogan's Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

Hospital Radio already gets good exposure here on BBC Radio Jersey. As Radio Lions chairman I present the weekly request programme "By Special Request" compiled mainly from requests collected by Radio Lions' team of ward visitors.I shall be seated in the studio for conference weekend, hence my excuse for non-attendance! Take care and have a thundering good conference.
Phil Taylor (Radio Lions - Jersey)

Devaweb has teamed up with the Hospital Broadcasting Association (HBA) to create a package of sweepers for radio stations across the UK to use during Hospital Broadcasting Week.

The jingles, available free of charge from Devaweb's website, can be used by any HBA station during Hospital Broadcasting Week which highlights the hard work and excellent programmes broadcast by the 300 member stations.

Chris Stevens, founder of Devaweb, said; "Over the last five years we've supplied countless hospital stations and presenters with jingles, so it's nice to be able to give something back to this strong broadcasting community. We hope that stations will find them useful during this great week."

Ray Oxley, Chief Executive of the HBA, commented; "The HBA is very pleased to have our Hospital Broadcasting Week imaging produced by Devaweb. We're sure our members will make full use of the excellent jingles." So far over 70 stations have downloaded the package. (I had a listen to the cuts at my home station yesterday - The very clever Production Manager, Alan French had cut them into our own jingle package and they sound brilliant)

Dave Gowland from Thameside Radio at Southend Hospital will be broadcasting from the window of a store in Regents Street in London. The station is FCUK FM and will be broadcasting from today. (Can be heard on SKY 934) - For Dave it will be a maximum of 2 hours as the object of the exercise if for him to be voted out by the listeners!

Other HR presenters to take up the challenge are Sophie Chandler from Mid Downs Hospital Radio, Steve Chapman of Hospital Radio Barnett. He will be filling a slot from 10am on Friday 9th February on FCUK. He said 'I'm certainly budding but not exactly young but will give it a go - should be an experience to say the least!'

Adam Sibley from Truro Hospital Radio has secured a slot on FCUK FM. He will be presenting "Winner stays on" show on April the 8th from 10am - 12pm and Neil Bleasdale - Whitechapel AM has a slot 12-2 on Sunday the 4th April.

On Easter Monday, our President, June Snowden will be appearing live on BBC Radio Wales during the Roy Noble Show - Dave McGealy has recorded a interview for a BBC GMR. In addition 45 BBC local radio station have been given all the information for their community spots. Let me know if you hear HBA week mentioned.

Hospital Radio Basingstoke are doing a recruitment campaign and appearing on their local radio station.
Neil Ogden suggested 'Here's an idea for next year. How about a set of standardized scripts that can be given out to promote things that hospital radio/HBA does - to help with stations that want to promote themselves but also the cause, which is also what the week is about. This could also be an extension of the standard IDs idea - a set of 30-second promos that all stations could playas part of the week. With those and the standard IDs, it would have a greater feel of every station playing a part, and probably give everyone more ideas to take advantage of what is an excellent publicity opportunity' (Neil - we love volunteers - thanks!) Just something that came to mind after recording our information break type promos for HRB using the Devaweb Ids (which were very good by the way).

Neil Ogden

Medway Hospital Radio. During Hospital Broadcasting Week, I have arranged a number of "meet and greet" events. We Start with a Social evening at a local Pub which will include invited guests and a local band and ourselves doing an OB, a number of French visitors will be there as this Pub is the venue for National and International Boule competitions.

On Tuesday 6th April, we are attending Lordswood Primary School in Chatham where we will be recording the School assembly and joining the teaching staff and children in "music from around the world", which will encompass many musical traditions and songs from around the world. It will also give us an opportunity to let the children know that going into hospital isn't so bad. The children will also record get-well messages for our clients (patients) We have also been able to arrange with a local shopping centre to, chat to their customers and to give out leaflets explaining what we are all about.
Ken Lockerby. HRM.

To mark National Hospital Radio Week, Rotherham's Hospital Radio Station, Radio Nightingale, is organising a special Open Weekend, with additional programmes, competitions and studio visits. And, the Open Weekend will see the official launch of the station's latest fund raising venture, the Radio Nightingale Lottery which offers a daily top prize of £10,000 five days a week for a weekly stake of £1. On Sunday April 4th and Monday April 5th, the station's will be broadcasting extra programmes, as well as throwing open the studio doors in a bid to attract more volunteer members to help with the day to day running of the radio service.

Said station manager Mel Jaques: "That weekend, we shall be launching our latest fund raising venture, the Radio Nightingale Lottery. "Like the National Lottery, people are asked to select six numbers. There are five draws each week with a top prize of £10,000 each day. Anyone who takes part is supporting Radio Nightingale and could win a first prize of £10,000.
"We hope people will come along on April 4th and 5th and see just how the station operates. In addition to daily live broadcasts, the station provides round the clock entertainment to patients and staff at Rotherham District General Hospital. "Personalised radio broadcasts, including requests and dedications, make hospital radio a unique service, and we are always on the lookout for more volunteers to help us provide a service that helps to brighten up the daily routine of those unfortunate enough to be confined to a hospital bed.

Antrim Hospital Radio have decided not to participate in hospital broadcasting week as it stands - instead they are promoting hospital radio through a very exciting event which falls just outside of your designated week. On the 15th April 2004 we at AHR will be celebrating our 10th birthday!! We're a small organisation and are putting all of our energies into this celebration weekend. Thank you for the advice that came out re. Publicity. We' have found it handy to check against what we have planned. So, in this little part of Northern Ireland it will be definitely all systems go just as the rest of you wind down! I must try and send you some
photographic evidence at some point! Helen Phillips

Steve from Radio Fox in Leicester wrote to say. We are using Hospital Broadcasting Week to announce our 'big split'. From April 23rd, our 16th birthday, we will be providing split shows for the two hospitals we serve at certain times of the week, the first time we have ever done this. I'm also planning some special features to promote our service during Hospital Broadcasting Week. We had wanted to launch our split service during the HB Week itself but technically it's going to take a while to set up - SteveHack

Radio Medica - Goole (132) are planning to do a 4 day FM RSL over the Easter weekend. The reasons are:-

1.) Due to an ever-decreasing membership, we want to try to raise the profile and encourage new people to join us.

2.) It is hospital broadcasting week -ish

3.) This year we celebrate our "30th" birthday (opened by Sir James Saville on July 22nd 1974 4.) Patientline will have just nicely gone live so it will encourage participation from the punters"

5.) Goole has never had anything as exciting as it's own radio station - just the odd pirate that appears from time to time &

6.) Why Not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, plans are looking good - the license application has been approved by Ofcom - just awaiting final frequency clearance which is due in a couple of weeks -we expect 87.9mhz - we have already been pledged £1300 in sponsorship from local companies and businesses so financially all is looking ok.
Julian Watson -Radio Medica

The articles in On Air were very useful (Thanks - MS) - will bear them in mind when writing our press releases next week, plus I've cobbled some stuff together from the Find out more about Hospital Broadcasting piece. We've organised an information stall (a first for us, it's always been music gigs for fundraising and publicity before) on Sat 3rd in the entrance of our local Asda, and got them to give us a DVD player for our draw. One of our new members is brill at footslogging it round all the shops, badgering them into giving us prizes! Nothing like the personal touch, is there?? We're also having the info stall at the front entrance of "de ozzy" on the following Tues and Thurs, with the winners of the draw being picked on the Thurs. I've put together a PowerPoint presentation which will be running on a PC, with info and pics of all the presenters, how we began, how to get involved and how to win prizes! Contacts have already been made with local press, including the Liverpool Echo, to request photographers' presence.
The website for volunteers, www.do-it.org.uk also has a feature on hospital radio

Ex Hospital Radio Barnet Presenter, now Capital Gold DJ Dean Martin recorded a special one hour programme for HRB for broadcast during Hospital Broadcasting Week. The programme featured a selection of No 1 hits from the past 25 years. Dean also recorded some generic Hospital Broadcasting Week 'drop - ins' for broadcast on the station. Dean who is a an honorary member of Hospital Radio Barnet said "that he was delighted to be asked to present a special programme for the hospital radio station that kick-started his professional career." Dean will also be mentioning the National Hospital Broadcasting Week on his regular shows across the Capital Gold Network.
Richard Edwards HBA Rep Hospital Radio Barnet

Nottingham Hospitals' Radio Celebrates three decades of providing Nottingham patients with music and sporting entertainment. Now based at studio's within the Nottingham Queens Medical Centre, the radio station first broadcast as 'Radio City' from the City Hospital site way Back on 1st April 1974, (((WELL HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!) and aims to serve all Nottingham Hospital.

Through three decades of music trends from 'Glam Rock' to 'Hip Hop' and huge changes in technology from vinyl to digital, the NHR has sought to provide comfort for all patients, through its dedicated band of volunteers who provide a wide variety of music, chat and live sport broadcast shows, and not forgetting regular ward visits to collect requests. To celebrate this important birthday milestone, a series of events will be organised, including a live show from the Market Square and a Marathon 72 hour show to raise funds for the station.
NHR are also appealing to former members to get in contact with the station as a re-union event is also planned, this will be especially interesting as many former members have gone on to work for both the BBC and commercial broadcasting in various capacities.

Pam Philip, Hon Secretary, Radio Halton (Runcorn, Cheshire)

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