History of Hospital Radio

An article written by John Watson, Chairman of Hospital Radio Perth.

The 1920's and 30's

When Thomas Hanstock wrote to the General Post Office in 1921 seeking permission to "conduct experiments with portable telegraph apparatus", he was not to know that his initial idea would result in hundreds of Hospital Radio stations across the UK and many more worldwide.

It was his interest in wireless receivers and his work with the Chief Physician at York County Hospital that led to him demonstrating to the indomitable Matron Steele, the potential of broadcasting football commentary, church services and eventually gramophone recordings to hospital patients.

It was also to be the start of a long relationship between hospital broadcasters and the GPO and British Telecom.

During 1925 and 26 the wiring was installed throughout the hospital - 200 sets of headphones and 70 loudspeakers fed from a wireless receiving set housed in a small alcove. In the mid thirties, the facility was to be taken over by Cussins and Light and the Radio Relay Company, who ran it from their premises in York's Parliament Street.

The hospital radio bug was with us, and it was catching. New stations began to appear, at Oldham in 1933 and Tottenham in 1935 among others.

Although some of these early services featured music - often performed live - much of the broadcasting was speech orientated, football commentary, church services, poetry and plays were the favourites, much like today.

What we would give now for these old hospital radio tapes. Some of the best non music broadcasting ever relayed to hospitals. Could they have featured the general strike, the arrival of those most distinctive of dances, the Charleston and the Rumba? Or, could it be that they would have reported the abdication of Kind Edward VIII?

Whatever the content of these early broadcasts, there is no doubt that they were transmitted with the greatest regard for quality and propriety. Standards set in the early days which have led to the patient orientated services which now exist over 70 years later.

The 1940's and 50's

Stalled for a period by the demands of World War II, it was not until the 1950's that we saw a rapid expansion in Hospital Radio. From a total of less than a dozen stations at the beginning of the war there would be over 70 some 20 years later.

Keeping true to the early years, most of these stations were sports orientated, providing commentary from football, rugby and cricket grounds. Even ice hockey, bowling and wrestling were featured at some stations!

There was a good reason for the sudden growth of hospital broadcasting. The unlikely trigger was a director of Portsmouth Football Club. Vernon Stokes was so impressed by his local volunteers that he enthusiastically promoted the idea among other football club directors. Consequently, clubs themselves became involved in the launch of hospital radio services.

In 1952 there were only half a dozen services offering music to the patient, but that soon multiplied. It was a time of rapid expansion, more and more hospitals could boast a hospital radio service of some sort. The arrival of the gramophone record prompted many a station to be music based and as the fifties came to a close popular music was accessible to more people than ever before. Hospital radio was rapidly evolving into the service as we know it today.

It was not just the UK that saw the arrival of hospital broadcasting, even in the fifties there were music services in both Japan and the Netherlands, while a service in New York was famed for broadcasting plays and live events to hospital patients.

If only the technology had been available just think of the opportunities for outside broadcasts - would they have featured the Coronation, Roger Bannister running the first sub four minute mile or even the stoicism of the people of Britain as they endured the horrors of the blitz?

The 1960's

The swinging sixties saw hospital broadcasting move up a gear. The huge surge in record sales ensured that music was more accessible than ever before, and the arrival of the domestic tape recorder meant that anyone could record a programme then relay it later to the hospital bedside.

Hospital Radio became primarily a music based service as many organisations realised that the landlines used by the sports team on a Saturday lay unused for the rest of the week. in some cases, music and sport were supplied to the same hospital by different stations. Indeed, during the sixties nearly 70% of the new music services were launched in towns where a sports service already existed.

If Vernon Stokes had been the major influence on the development of Hospital Radio in the fifties then that influence passed to the Toc H charitable organisation in the 1960's. Originally responsible for launching about one third of the sports based services, Toc H continued to support hospital broadcasting throughout the 1960's. It encouraged the foundation of the music services while encouraging regular football, cricket and rugby broadcasts.

By the end of the swinging sixties there were over 100 stations in the UK, at least 90% of which were operating a music service.

Radio One had arrived, and with it a number of local and regional radio stations catering for the mass appeal of popular music. These stations were to be staffed by people who were to become household names, Tony Blackburn, Pete Murray, Emperor Roski. Many of whom learned their trade at Radio Caroline or some of the other pirate radio stations around the country. With new local radio stations springing up with monotonous regularity, it was to hospital radio that they turned for a new generation of presenter, producer and technician. Visit any radio or television studio in Britain today and you will find a wide selection of their staff with a hospital radio background - a testament to the training and development taking place on a voluntary basis across the entire country.

No doubt there are several people broadcasting to hospitals today who will one day become household names.

The 1970's and 80's

The seventies saw hospital broadcasting reach new heights. From just over 100 stations, numbers rose dramatically to the point where virtually every hospital of any size - and many of the smaller ones - had their own radio service.

The launch of the National Association of Hospital Broadcasting Organisations (NAHBO) in Hull was the catalyst that at last began to draw these disparate organisations together and given them one UK voice with which to deal with the wider world of landlines, insurance, legal and political issues. It helped to establish and promote good practice throughout the service. Hundreds of stations, perhaps as many as 700 at one point, were broadcasting on a daily basis. However, as the years went on there was rationalisation.

Smaller hospitals closed or amalgamated and with the arrival of the larger regional hospital came the larger hospital radio station. Often these stations would serve several hospitals - indeed at one time one Manchester organisation was broadcasting to 21 separate hospitals. Some hospital radio services were to close, others merged with neighbours or a local sports broadcasting organisation; their joint efforts ensuring their survival.

Technology had moved on too. The CD superseded the record, which had for so long been the mainstay of the service. Record libraries were indexed on computer rather than filing cards. Hospital radio was growing up. It was not unusual to find studios built to the exacting standards usually found at the BBC or local independent radio.

Organisations had to work harder than ever before, patients were spending less and less time in hospital and ward visiting became even more important amid the anonymous bustle and rush of the modern infirmary. But it was that relationship with the patient, that ability to speak to the listener perhaps only a few moments before the programme went on air that marked hospital broadcasting as something special. No other media has the ability to get so close to its public. Over the years that has proved the strength of the movement - patient orientated programming.

The 1990's and the 21st Century

As hospital broadcasting moved into the last decade of the century, it had never been in a stronger position. Now over 300 stations were members of the NAHBO, or to use its working name the Hospital Broadcasting Association (HBA).

While on the one hand the arrival of the Lottery made fundraising more difficult it also brought the opportunity to apply for substantial help towards financing major projects. Indeed, fundraising had never been approached so professionally. Many stations were to embark on major projects with substantial funding safely secured.

Technology too had moved on. Where once hospital radio had benefited from the mass production of the tape recorder, many now moved into digital technology with mini-disk and recordable CD becoming affordable studio equipment.

Computers too played their part. From jingles and promos on computer disk, the arrival of domestic PC's with huge hard disk capacity allowed more and more stations to use one or more computers to play-out their programmes. Suddenly it was possible for hospital radio to be a more substantial service - broadcasting patient orientated programming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Lobbying of the authorities saw permission granted for some stations to broadcast on low power FM - and, more recently AM.

The development of reasonably priced FM link equipment mean that broadcasting to nearby hospitals or relaying live concerts and events could be carried out without the need for ever more expensive land lines. Just as in the early days, hospital broadcasters were excelling in bringing the patient top class events from the community, concerts, fun-days or sports commentary.

As we explore a new century, there is no doubt that there will remain a need for hospital broadcasting. No matter how hi-tech the patient entertainment systems installed throughout hospitals, there will remain a place for the visitor and broadcaster who cares. In the future, as now and in the past, the most successful stations will be those which at all times remember their objectives and their commitment to bring entertainment and cheer to the patients.