Radio Clatterbridge is a community hospital radio

Hospital radio

Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...

 station based at Clatterbridge Health Park, Wirral

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

, UK. It is also a registered UK charity.

The station notably carried the first broadcast interview

Interview

An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...

 with the Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

. It is one of the oldest radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s in the UK.

History

Radio Clatterbridge began life as a group of boys from a local youth group

Youth group

Youth group may refer to:* Youth Group, an Australian band* Youth club, a social and activities club for young people* Youth ministry, an age-specific type of religious ministry...

. As an aid to providing some vital rest and recuperation, the boys decided to visit sick patients at Clatterbridge General Hospital. Their genius was to play them songs at their bedsides using a portable record player. The idea was so popular that it soon became possible to buy permanent gramophone

Phonograph

The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...

s and "broadcast" the songs back to the patients, via a simple land-line system.

Soon the new radio station was broadcasting a number of programmes every week. One of those, Sunday Spin, created musical history. Presenter Monty Lister recorded the first broadcast interview with a new up-and-coming band, called The Beatles in 1962. This was marked with a special anniversary reunion in 2002.

As the Swinging Sixties moved in to the Seventies, so the Radio Clatterbridge premises moved in to Larch House. The station remained in these studios for nearly two decades.

Digital technology was first introduced during the late 1980s, as the station (now equipped with two studios) began playing its first CDs

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

!

Before long Radio Clatterbridge was on the move again. This time it was only temporary. In 1993 the charity made its home near to St John's Hospice. The temporary move lasted for nearly a decade.

Radio Clatterbridge finally made its permanent move into the old boiler house in 2001. The charity's new home had to be developed from scratch. A series of successful community grant

Grant (money)

Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...

 applications enabled Radio Clatterbridge to fit a new studio for the new millennium.

New computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 equipment in 2003 enabled the station to do something it had never been able to do before. Radio Clatterbridge now provides a round-the-clock service to the health park.

Today

Staffed by about 30 volunteers, Radio Clatterbridge provides an important and unique service to patients and staff at Clatterbridge Health Park. It is heard via a landline service wards throughout Clatterbridge Hospital, Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology.

In November 2011, the station began broadcasting to the remainder of the site on 1386 AM (Medium Wave). It means that for the first time, patients at St John's Hospice in the Wirral, Claire House Children's Hospice and Elderholme are able to hear the service along with their visitors and staff.

Ward visitors regularly collect requests which are played on air. These are supplemented by requests received from patient

Patient

A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....

s' relatives around the world via the charity's website. Radio Clatterbridge also receives requests for patients via both Facebook and Twitter.