Hospital Radio: What's the future of radio?

We recently had a meeting here in Torquay for the hospital radio stations of Wales and the South West.

We had 25 or so attendees discussing all the issues that affect us. These can range for numbers of volunteers, to the ability to visit the wards and collect requests. We are fortunate here in as much as we have a decent number of members (we can always do with more of course) and we are able to visit the wards and see the patients, it is difficult to imagine it any other way.

We also had two key note speakers Matt Rogan and Brian Sims who gave us an insight to their careers both of which were fascinating. You may recall Matt from his time presenting the breakfast show on Palm Radio here in Torquay. He subsequently went on to the Breeze, where  he was the only person going into the studio in Torquay for a while during the pandemic.

Fast forward to the current day and Matt is now a network producer at Nation Broadcasting, but given the advances in digital broadcasting he is able to do the demanding job, whilst still living here in Torbay. He also gets to produce the Network Nation Chart Show which is presented by Neil (Dr) Fox, you may remember him. Nation broadcasting is looking to expand into the south west but for now you can hear their output online.

Brian Sims now lives in Torbay with his wife after a career that has seen him resident all around the world, predominantly in South Africa. Following a highly successful sales career, Brian applied many of those same skills to the fiercely competitive world of F1 and international motorsport, both as a well-sponsored professional race driver and then a ground-breaking exponent of sponsorship acquisition.

He is recognised internationally as one of motorsport's  most successful and experienced sponsorship sales exponents, he has acquired in excess of £100 million at all levels, up to and including F1. Even  now in his eighties he shows considerable drive and a passion for speed. He is an incredibly entertaining and informative, speaking about his years spent in the extraordinary business world of F1, as well as racing professionally thanks to his outstanding skill for acquiring sponsorship. He learned these skills as a Xerox salesman and it is amazing to think that these helped him gain a high level of success in the fiercely competitive business world of motor sport.

His stories are like a who’s who the motor racing world, mixing with former F1 supremo Max Mosley, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell and other Grand Prix drivers. Brian also spent a stint as the manager of the Kyalami race track in Johannesburg. But his CV is not restricted to cars, as he told us about his meeting with the Monty Python team and then working alongside John Cleese and his business training company Video Arts. 

There was also a period when he helped produce  a sales training programme with the cast of Are you being Served? It was created for staff at the John Menzies retail chain in the 1970s. This quirky initiative blended comedy with corporate instruction, using the show's popularity and department store setting to engage employees.

It featured members of the original cast, including John Inman and Mollie Sugden, reprising their roles in specially filmed segments. The tone was humorous but instructional, using the familiar Grace Brothers setting to illustrate good and bad sales practices. Read Brian’s book ‘You don’t Have To Be A Champion To Be A Winner!’ If you want to know more.

When I got involved in Hospital Radio, I never dreamt that I would get to meet people like Matt and Brian. It helps motivate me as a volunteer and gives  a real push towards higher standards when putting together a show. There is more to being involved with hospital radio than you might imagine.