Patients in Milton Keynes Hospital were first treated to a broadcast on "Channel 5" at Christmas 1984. In those days the station was on air only three days a week - today we produce around 20 hours of live programmes a week and broadcast an automated music and entertainment service the remaining 148 hours.

The concept of a radio station in Milton Keynes Hospital stretches further back than those 1984 festivities. Several years earlier, a small group of people, already involved in hospital radio elsewhere, foresaw the benefits a radio station could bring to the new hospital.

After much planning, fund-raising and hard work, we raised enough money to build a basic studio. In 1989 the area our studio occupied was required to provide access to the new Phase 2 of the Hospital. We were given some space down the corridor where we designed and built a state of the art studio complex. Since then, all of the equipment that we had in the old studio has been replaced, again thanks to the generosity of others who responded to our fundraising efforts.

The library card index has been replaced by a computer, which will tell you what music is on the library shelves. The compact disc players have established themselves in the studio and vinyl records are being eclipsed by CDs. In 1999, almost exactly 15 years after our first broadcast, we launched our automatic 24-hour broadcast service. Recently we began to receive and broadcast a live news feed, on the hour every hour, via satellite.

The enthusiasm of our volunteers has always been the driving force behind the success of the radio - their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into all aspects of the radio work has helped to build the station into a much appreciated part of hospital daily life.

But there is always room for improvement - so if you have any ideas for programmes, interview subjects, topics for debate, or fancy yourself as a team member then Milton Keynes Hospital Radio would love to hear from you - after all, it is YOUR hospital radio station!