Torbay Hospital Radio: 'We need a little help from you'

Well it is if you have a smart device, do it via our website (torbayhospitalradio.co.uk) or by asking your virtual assistant for Torbay Hospital Radio. This works well via the hospital’s free Wi-Fi, but there is a problem. Not everyone has a smart device.
Each Tuesday before our 7pm show my co presenter Sue, goes around the wards to see if anyone would like us to play a record for them. Most do, some just want to talk, as being in hospital can be a lonely experience despite the best efforts of the wonderful staff. Some simply want to know how they can hear what they have requested.
If you have been in Torbay recently you may not know that there are no longer bedside units to enable patients to listen to radio or watch TV. The company that provided them went under pre pandemic and now patients are left to their own devices, pardon the pun. Wards have televisions in their Day Rooms, but of course if you are in hospital that may not be an option. If you have arrived in a hurry or don’t feel happy having your valuable electronic device in hospital, options are limited.
With this in mind and in an attempt to at least make some entertainment to the bed bound, we commissioned an FM transmitter to go alongside the internet options. Approved by Ofcom, it is accessible around the hospital on 95.9fm, but of course if you have no smart phone, you are unlikely to have brought an FM Radio with you. No problem, when we are up on the wards if you would like a radio with headphones we will provide to you free of charge.
For reasons of infection control we do not get them back. So this then gives us an issue, as a self-funded charity, we receive no central funding, we need to raise the money to buy the radios in the first place and we do go through them quite quickly. With this in mind we are starting a new fund raising drive, with the idea of finding a sponsor for these items, so anyone out there who thinks they might be able to help with this initiative or with any of the other projects that are ongoing we would love to hear from you. This can be done via our website or by emailing info@torbayhospitalradio.com.
The power of music apparently aids recovery, but at present you could be in hospital with no ear to the outside world and this something we are keen to address, but our little charity might need a little help along the way.
If you know somebody in the hospital who needs a radio please contact us on radios@torbayhospitalradio.com and we make the necessary arrangements