Chichester Hospital Radio - 1431 AM News and Events

01/01/07 VOLUNTEERS WANTED

To run, maintain and develop a busy radio service like Chichester Hospital Radio requires the dedication of volunteers.

No previous experience is necessary because help and expert guidance is always on hand. The only requirement is the ability to get on with others.

We currently have vacancies for anyone over the age of sixteen who have a few hours a week to spare either during the day, evenings or at the weekends

It is a rewarding pastime with plenty of opportunities to meet new people.

Several retired people have found a new lease of life after joining Chichester Hospital Radio learning new skills and enjoying new challenges.

Meanwhile many budding broadcasters have set off on the professional road after spending time in our studios. Local and national broadcasters including the BBC, have benefited from the skills taught at St Richards.

If you want to find out more we are waiting to hear from you, so call us on 01243 788122 ex 3000.

Or email us at ward.visiting@chr1431.org.uk

01/05/06 Studio35: Chichester Hospital Radio faces its biggest-ever challenge

This year, Chichester Hospital Radio enters its 35th year of serving the patients, staff and visitors to St. Richard's Hospital in Chichester. At the same time, it is facing its biggest-ever challenge to raise funds to relocate its broadcast studios. To meet this challenge, CHR is launching an appeal called Studio35.

CHR broadcasts a range of informative and entertaining programmes, including a nightly Patient Request Programme - a service that no other broadcaster provides. Many patients have told CHR how thrilled they were to hear their request played on the air, and how much better they felt as a result. It was founded in 1972 and began operations from a broom cupboard. Before long, a disused pram store was converted by volunteers into a studio, which is still being used today. The broadcasting facilities have been enhanced over the years to enable broadcasting on medium wave radio, ( 1431AM), and to create a second studio within the existing premises. CHR now broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

CHR is a registered charity, and is staffed entirely by volunteers, who visit the patients, collect requests, maintain the equipment, and manage the sound library, run the organisation and present programmes on-air.

Running a Hospital Radio Station is an expensive business and CHR is no different. We are constantly fund raising to help repair and replace worn out studio equipment as well as producing “CHR Radio Times”, 'Smile Magazine' and other patient information. Any other special fundraising projects have to be additional to this regular fundraising. We welcome donations of audio material such as records and talking books so please get in touch if there is anything you would like to donate. If you would like to make a donation to CHR please click here.

Development plans for St. Richard's Hospital mean that CHR will have to relocate its studios and storage areas to another site within the Hospital. Details are not yet available, but it seems likely that CHR will have to turn an empty space into a studio complex with library and storage areas within the next couple of years. CHR estimates that this will cost in the region of £35,000, but could be as much as £50.000. This money will have to come from CHR, not the Hospital.

Why will it cost so much? There are a number of factors. Turning a bare room into sound-proof studios needs specialist wall-tiling, carpeting, etc. By the time of the move, much of the studio equipment will be nearly twenty years old, and will need to be replaced in any case. CHR hopes to do much of the work using its own volunteers, but, inevitably, specialist expertise will be needed if the change-over is not to take far too long, and interrupt the service to the patients.

Obviously, the volunteer members of CHR can't raise this sort of money themselves. So, as part of the Studio35 appeal, CHR will be approaching possible sources of funding, both public and private, over the coming months. If you or someone you know could help the appeal, or could provide practical help, please write to the Studio35 Project Manager, CHR Studio, St. Richard's Hospital, Spitalfield Lane, Chichester PO19 4SE or email here. Thank you for any help you can give.

Chichester Hospitals Broadcasting Association ...local radio for St. Richard's... Registered Charity: Number 292599

RECORD REQUESTS	1431AM	RADIO TIMES
WANTED! Ward Visitors	LATEST NEWS	CHR ARCHIVE
Giving Talks About CHR	Voluntary Services	Diary
PICTURE GALLERY	Christmas Schedule	About Us