They support member stations and their volunteers through both representation and action. The HBA liaises with charity regulators, broadcast and licencing bodies, and commercial organisations. Supporting hospital radio, and highlighting the benefits of music and light entertainment.  

The member stations help provide social interaction by providing the listeners with a virtual friend and through face to face interaction with volunteers from the station. They also create a sense of belonging by familiarising patients with the hospital. The patients feel more like an individual rather than ‘just another patient’ because of the personalisation of the requests they can send in. The volunteers also gain a sense of community and feel fulfilled as they’re contributing to something bigger than themselves. 

What we have offered and who’s involved

WiFi SPARK has reached out to the member stations through the HBA Newsletter. We are offering the promotion of these radio stations directly to the Bedside Units, and engaging a larger audience through social media posts. All radio is available from our Bedside Units for free. We want to help as many patients as possible to make the most of this free service. 

These Hospital Radio stations have responded and been provided with this promotional material 

• York 

• Sunderland
• Hillingdon 
• Stafford 
• Southside Broadcasting 
• Mid Downs  

• Inverness
• Northumberland 
• Hereford
• Conquest
• Ysbyty
  
• Exeter
• North Tees and Hartlepool (Radio Stitch)

Benefits of the Radio 

We are more than happy to promote the work of these amazing volunteer-lead radio stations that provide a number of benefits to patients. This includes the improvement of psychosocial health.

• Boredom decreases due to the entertainment  
• Loneliness is reduced by social interaction
• Anxiousness / frustration is lessened through calm and reassurance 
• Disorientation is minimised by creating a sense of belonging 
• Depersonalisation is reduced by making one feel like an individual

• Health and wellbeing awareness is increased by providing information 

The radio was the original form of patient entertainment and is a great way to pass the time and improve patient experience. A healthier mind leads to a faster recovery, and we are proud to be able to contribute to this by providing free access to commendable hospital radio stations, on both TV Bedside Units and BYOD. Learn more about HBA and all the amazing work they do to support Hospital Radio stations here. 

If you’d like to promote your Hospital Radio station with us, get in contact.