More Hospital Radio

Finding Our Own Spot on the Dial - It had to happen. The need for a consistent Corporate Image has even found it's way down to Hospital Radio. The thousands of volunteers who keep Hospital Radio on the air nationwide have not been forced into grey suits yet, but down in Head Office something stirs.

The title of NAHBO, the dear old-fashioned name of the National Association of Hospital Broadcasting Organizations has gone. Catchy though it was, changing times mean new thinking and the new title reflects this. From now, they will be known as The HBA, quite simply The Hospital Broadcasting Association.

Hospital radio is the second largest charity with no full-time paid members supporting a network of over 300 stations in the UK and around the world. We feel the time has now come for this "third force" in broadcasting to take its place on the dial along with The BBC and Commercial Radio.

So many changes have happened recently in the way we listen to radio. The digital revolution means people going into hospital can take their radio or iPod with them without causing disturbance to others. The personal headphone has replaced the hospital headset. We see this as our greatest challenge and a real catalyst for change in the way we produce our programmes.

Hospital radio has to provide something different with a strong sense of community and identity. But in the end, a Radio 2 listener - there is a lot of them about - will want to carry on listening to Wogan when they wind up in hospital...

Add to this TV/Radio/Phone services, albeit charged for, and the hospital station is just another voice at a multi-channel bedside. The future does not look good, especially as Trusts look for best use of space and no longer see it cost effective to maintain the traditional headset system, some going back 40 years.

But stations are working closely with OFCOM to set up very small FM RSL stations in the major hospitals so we can take our place on the dial and compete on better terms for the short time an ordinary radio listener becomes a hospital radio listener.

But when FM becomes DAB, who will hand over a channel for hospital radio?