Welcome to Hospital Radio Reading

Since 1957, Hospital Radio Reading (HRR) has been broadcasting and entertaining, to the patients and staff at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. Our station runs entirely by volunteers, a combination of live and pre-recorded shows, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via the Hospedia bedside entertainment system, online via our website or on the TuneIn app.

Our purpose is to brighten up the remainder of the patients stay and the staff’s day, through song requests, recent news, and the best selection of music for all ages. Our stations day to day running costs are raised by our volunteers through fundraising and donations. If you would like to help us by donating, please make sure to visit our donation page. We are a registered charity, our charity number is 244974

Our full programme schedule can be found on our website. All of us from HRR would love to hear from the patients, staff or even relatives of the patients for requests or dedications. Patients can contact us on *800 from your bedside Hospedia entertainment system or our other details on our website/social media.

CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

Though I have been Chairman of Hospital Radio Reading for over ten years now, this is my first opportunity of writing this introduction. Until now I have always left it to our Founder, former Chairman and then President, Les Warth, to do the honours but, sadly, Les passed away in 2016. It is difficult to put into words how much Hospital Radio Reading owes to Les but you will find an appreciation of his life and work elsewhere on our website and in our magazine.

So now it is my turn to welcome you to the HRR website and to encourage you to investigate the FREE radio service that HRR provides by pressing the orange button on your bedside handset. Once you see Hospital Radio highlighted in pink on the screen you need to press the tick button (towards the top right on your handset). That usually works but, if the words Hospital Radio do not appear in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen after a few seconds, you may need to pick up the telephone (to the left of the screen) and press the green button to speak to the operator. And don’t hesitate to ask the ward staff for headphones if you don’t have any of your own. Another way of hearing us is to press the little button at the bottom of the handset, between the loudspeaker and headphone symbols, and (in most wards) you can then hear us on your console’s built-in loudspeakers (but please make sure you use the headphones late at night!)

I hope that listening to our programmes will help to make your stay in the RBH is as pleasant as possible in the circumstances. And, on behalf of all of us at HRR, may I wish you a speedy recovery.

Gerard Rocks