News UPDATE - 26/10/20

Rugby Hospital Radio returns live and invites requests

Rugby Hospital Radio is broadcasting live for the first time in seven months with a special ‘socially distanced’ arrangement. Now they are asking the public to send requests for relatives and friends in the hospital.

Patients in the Hospital of St Cross can hear programmes from Rugby Hospital Radio 24 hours a day. Volunteers from the charity stopped attending the studio on the hospital site in March and for the last seven months, the service has been heard on a pre-recorded basis only, with programmes broadcast from a computer.

“The hospital management were very keen to find a safe way to bring us back to site”, says Chairman Jim Austin. “We are very grateful to site manager Janine Beddow and her team at St Cross and UHCW Trust volunteer coordinator Kristine Davies for their help. 

“Everything has been done very professionally, with risk assessments for volunteers and safe hygiene practices approved by the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control Department”.

All programmes are now presented solo with a time gap between presenters. There is a maximum of two live programmes per day, with one in the afternoon and another in the evening, with the rest of the programmes being pre-recorded.

There is however one big omission from the usual service. “For obvious reasons, we are still not able to visit the wards to meet patients and collect their music requests”, Jim explains. “This is the most important aspect of what we do. We are inviting the public to send dedications for family and friends who are patients in St Cross. Patients can listen via the TV/radio unit next to their bed. They can ask the staff for headphones or they can use their own”.

For details of how to message Rugby Hospital Radio, visit www.rugbyhospitalradio.co.uk or look up the Facebook page.