Welcome to Hospital Radio Ipswich.
We provide a radio service to the Patients of The Ipswich Hospital, Via the Patientline System (Channel 1), To listen to us it´s absolutely free, all you need to do is register your details with Patientline. You can do this by lifting the handset and pressing the green operator key.
We have been providing this service for over 30 years. We are run entirely by volunteers and rely on donations and fund raising to provide the money we need to keep going. If you are interested in joining us we are always looking for people who are willing to commit to helping with ward visiting, fund raising and assisting with our popular roadshow/outside broadcasts. In addition to doing the above there may also be the opportunity to present your own programme. Please contact us if you are interested.
Message from our Chairman
Allow me to introduce myself… I am Kevin Ashford, 55 years young and born and bred in Ipswich. I started at Hospital Radio Ipswich in December 2007 and in 2008 I was elected as Chairman, with a number of years experience under my belt in the allotment world. I decided then a change of direction was needed. I began at HRI by finding out what was needed and to getting to know the members, with their thoughts and aspirations for the future being a paramount importance.
My main goals and objectives are to ensure that patients are kept informed and are given the best service available by ward visits done by our presenters and our ward walkers. Ultimately our goals are not only to maintain our service to the patients but also to form a partnership with the Trust and Patientline.
In 2008 I took the responsibility of helping with our membership recruitment, which involves bringing new members to HRI and briefing / ensuring they are kept on board within our framework. I am a trained manager and will use this skill both in the Hospital and HRI. Experience is an important part of life and as members of HRI we must pass this on for future generations.
What are our challenges? It’s no secret that more and more new members want a slice of the HRI cake. While I feel we need to be the best in the business, at the moment, it is a constant challenge to keep one step ahead. We are constantly introducing further improvements to our station. I.e. 24-hour broadcasting, request shows every night, membership starter pack, printed tea shirts and again finding out more about our patients.
To help and get the right result we must maintain our fundraising. This clearly is of paramount importance to our station: without this we would not be able to continue forward. Making important decisions is also a positive step, which is done on a monthly basis by our executive committee. Many of our new members will be introduced to the main objectives. I.e. “The Patients” as without them we would not be able to broadcast so visiting the wards and talking to the patients is an important part of our organisation. Our executive committee play their part and work towards many improvements for the station and the Trust. There are a number of events, which need supporting every year and this is another way of getting involved with HRI as some members like this side and do there utmost to fulfil their commitments.
Some months ago we established a way forward with the completion of the John Alborough Report. This has now been completed and gives us a platform for the future. Some of our members made their own comments on this report, which were taken on board by our executive committee. I am also very pleased that we are now much closer to 24-hour broadcasting with a number of new plans laid out before us while in the hospital the Trust have played their part by erecting a new Arial. This is to help us by of having our own channel to broadcast as in the past we have shared Channel 1 with BBC Radio Suffolk. Over the coming weeks a new computer play out system will be put in place by our Engineers. This will improve our station and put us on a par with other Hospital Radio Stations in the region. I am certain that all these changes are for the benefit of our listeners and will provide the best service possible.
On the 16th June members are invited to attend a briefing and training on our new computer play out system. It is important that members attend this briefing as it becomes very important to our station and our future direction. Thousands of patients have enjoyed our service by some letters and calls we received via our presenters and ward walkers who visit the wards and get to know the patients. Finally, “Thank You” to all for your support.
Kevin Ashford
Chairman HRI