Hospital Radio Plymouth
Encyclopedia
Hospital Radio Plymouth is a hospital radio
Hospital radio
Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...

 station based in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, England. It provides entertainment to the patients of Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital, is a large teaching hospital situated in Plymouth, England. The hospital serves Plymouth and nearby areas in Devon and Cornwall. It also provides tertiary Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery and Renal Transplant surgery for the whole of the South West Peninsula...

 and The Royal Eye Infirmary, broadcasting via Patientline and on 87.7fm.
The station holds a long term restricted service licence granted by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...

, allowing it to broadcast on FM.

The station is run as a charity staffed by volunteers (registered charity number 260238).

History

During the 1950s, Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 commentary was broadcast to the patients of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 hospitals by the Toc H Organisation, via the telephone network. In 1967, requests began to be collected from Mount Gould Hospital by the Plymouth Lions Club, forming the basis of the first weekly music programme, Disc Date. On the 2nd October 1969, the station secured its first permanent premises on the Barbican and was officially opened as Hospital Radio Plymouth by Alderman George Creber, the then Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...

. From 1969 to 1998, the station was housed at the Ladies' Hospital on Lockyer Street; Nelson Gardens; Greenbank Hospital and Freedom Fields Hospital. In 1998 it moved to Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital, is a large teaching hospital situated in Plymouth, England. The hospital serves Plymouth and nearby areas in Devon and Cornwall. It also provides tertiary Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery and Renal Transplant surgery for the whole of the South West Peninsula...

, where it remains broadcasting to this day.

Programming

Hospital Radio Plymouth now broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with over 60 hours of live programming every week. This consists of a mix of specialist music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 programmes; request shows live from the hospital wards; news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...

 programmes; speech based shows; classic comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 and sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

. Patients can make requests directly to the studio from their bedside telephones. Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 home matches are presented on Argyle Live.

The station reaches out to the community at local events with its mobile Showstage, providing live entertainment and music. Recent events include Plymouth Hoe
Plymouth Hoe
Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount...

 Bonfire Night
, Music of The Night and The Lord Mayor's Day Parade.

Awards

At the 2010 Hospital Broadcasting Association
Hospital Broadcasting Association
The Hospital Broadcasting Association supports the 230 or so independent hospital broadcasting organisations serving hospitals, hospices and nursing homes in the UK...

 awards, the station won the Silver Award in the Station Of The Year category; the Bronze Award for Best Station Promotion and was commended for Best Speech Package.

At the 2009 Inspiring Volunteering Awards held in Plymouth, the station was named as Volunteer Team of The Year.

At the 2009 Hospital Broadcasting Association
Hospital Broadcasting Association
The Hospital Broadcasting Association supports the 230 or so independent hospital broadcasting organisations serving hospitals, hospices and nursing homes in the UK...

 awards, several Hospital Radio Plymouth volunteers were honoured. Josh Andrews was named HBA Volunteer Of The Year, Josie Scobling received the silver award for Best Speech Package, Isobel King received a Highly Commended Award for Best Female Presenter and Josh Andrews was commended for Best Newcomer. The station won a Silver Award in the Station Of The Year category.

At the 2008 Hospital Broadcasting Association
Hospital Broadcasting Association
The Hospital Broadcasting Association supports the 230 or so independent hospital broadcasting organisations serving hospitals, hospices and nursing homes in the UK...

 awards, station volunteer Connal Cather received the John Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the station since 1970. The station received the gold award as Station Of The Year.

Presenters

Previous presenters have included: Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...

(now works for ITV), Richard Latto (now BBC Radio Solent), Matt Lissack (now Red Dragon), Dave Gould (now Radio Pembrokeshire), Oliver Ings (now BBC Radio Devon), David Harber (Radio Consultant), Gavin Marshall (Radio Plymouth & Plymouth Pavilions), Sally Reader (Global Traffic Network Manager), Jane Atwill (now Radio Plymouth), Martin Mills (Heart South Hams), Roger Simpson (ITN and Radio Plymouth) and Ben Glover (now Galaxy South Coast).

Current presenters can be found on the organisation's website.

External links

  • http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Plymouth-radio-youth-volunteer-year/article-860422-detail/article.html
  • http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Schoolboy-wins-national-volunteer-award/article-899555-detail/article.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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