Chippenham Hospital Radio
Chippenham Hospital Radio is a volunteer radio station in Chippenham, England.
Beginnings
Chippenham Hospital Radio was set up as a volunteer-run organization around 1983 by a team of local people (several of whom remain members to this day). The station was set up to provide news, music and information for the patients and staff of Chippenham's hospitals, aiming to provide an alternative to non-hospital-based radio stations and television channels available to the patients in the hospital, who might have no other forms of entertainment whilst staying at the hospital.
Local Connections
The station enjoys a good relationship with Chippenham Town Football Club, for which it provides regular updates on most match days, and often has a pitch-side reporter at home games. It also gives some coverage to selected other sporting events around the town and local area.
The station also gets involved locally in and around the town in form of outside broadcasts and coverage of local events. These include the Chippenham Folk Festival and the North Wilts Festival, both centered around the town's Monkton park.
The Modern Station
In 2005 and 2006 the station saw a boost in popularity, as well as an increased profile in the local community. One of the major changes in these two years was that an entire studio was renovated, giving it the ability to receive Independent Radio News bulletins every hour.
Broadcasting Marathons
Chippenham Hospital Radio had its first broadcasting marathon in 2006. It lasted 48 hours in total, starting at 7 pm on Friday, April 6 and ending at 7 pm Sunday, April 8. Teams of 3 and 2 broadcast in various time slots throughout the weekend, up to 7 hours at a time. Over £1000 was raised for the upkeep of the station. The event was designed to coincide with Hospital Broadcasting Week, an annual celebration of radio and television broadcasting within hospitals.
Because the 2006 marathon was so successful, a second marathon was held from March 30–April 1, 2007, starting at 6 pm on the Friday and ending at 6 pm on the Sunday. The shifts were alloted into 6 hour blocks, with most teams made up of 3 people. The marathon was officially opened by the Mayor of Chippenham, Maureen Lloyd, who stayed on afterwards to talk with presenters about the station and its progress. The marathon was once again a success.
People
The station has a team of presenters who run the station day by day, including official positions like Station Manager, Programme Controller and Station Engineer. The organization is run by a full committee, including a chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer, who meet monthly to discuss progress and future events.
Usually, there are shows on every day, primarily weekdays during late afternoons/evenings and weekends.
CHR is also the home of the team of 6 people who organize and run Wings FM, the station responsible for broadcasting the Royal International Air Tattoo, the largest airshow in Europe.
Employees of the station sometimes visit hospital wards to gather requests and dedications, and to spread the news about the station.
Technological Innovation
CHR believes itself to be one of the first hospital broadcaster to be relayed around the world, via the internet radio service Live365. The station went live on the internet in June 2005 with an afternoon of special programmes. The service can be accessed at any time from the station's website.