Always on the Air
24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year - we keep on going.
It would be nice to think that HRB volunteers are constantly in the studio bringing you programmes to help you through your stay in hospital - but that's not quite the full story! Operating a hospital radio station 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is not an easy task, especially when you only have a limited number of volunteers.
When the HTS Hospicom terminals were installed in the hospital, we were provided with both the opportunity (and headache) of providing 24 hour programming for our dedicated channel. We considered a 'CD jukebox' type service but wanted to provide local information as well as a blend of quality familiar music. Thank heavens for technology! Hospital Radio Bedford, like many other radio stations, now takes advantage of computers to assist in providing programs to you, our listeners, overnight and throughout the day when it is not practical to have 'live' presenters.
We have been using computer software to play out station jingles, identifications and some music tracks for quite a few years now so it seemed like a natural progression to expand this to provide round-the-clock radio station tailored to Bedford South Wing Hospital. Following the customary brainstorming session on possible requirements we established that we wanted 'something' that would be able to not only play out complete pre-recorded programs but also be capable of intelligently picking a mixture of music and information items according to a defined sequence of events. Oh, and just in case that task was too easy, we also wanted to be able to retain the facility to 'switch' in and out from Radio 2 on the older hard-wired system and also be able to insert the news at the top of the hour! Easy - eh?
One of our members, Matt Jones, set about the onerous assignment of writing some software to perform all the tasks we had defined whilst other HRB members set about recording full programs and other shorter information sequences that could be played out at the appropriate times. After a lengthy struggle and copious amounts of coffee, we ended up with a system that (hopefully) provides you, the patient, with a 24 hour radio station which is focused on the hospital whilst also providing some pertinent information on the wider Bedfordshire area.
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