A volunteer-powered service bringing music, companionship and a friendly voice to patients across Sheffield's hospitals.
Sheffield Hospital Radio is run by volunteers and exists to provide a 24-hour service based around music, chat, sport and news.
From our studios to the wards, our volunteers help keep patients company through broadcasting, visiting and taking music requests.
A few photos of the studios, playout system and library.
From our purpose-built studios at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield we broadcast a 24-hour service based around music, chat, sport and news.
Studio Team volunteers are involved in presenting, production, roadshows, technical, engineering, and all the other roles that are essential to ensuring that our output is of the highest quality possible, every day of the year.
We spend quality face-to-face time with the patients on the wards. 40% of hospital patients across Sheffield never receive any visitors during their stay, so we have our Patient Team.
This dedicated group of volunteers travel the length, breadth, and in terms of the Royal Hallamshire, height of Sheffield hospitals to visit every patient over the course of each week.
Volunteers spend time with everyone, not only collecting music requests, but also talking about everything and anything. If you're in hospital, then look out for our volunteers!
The Committee is elected at each Annual General Meeting to promote the vision, support the organisation, and to guide the activities of the charity. Each member of the committee gives a considerable amount of time to keep things running smoothly.
2021 was the year when Sheffield Hospital Radio celebrated 45 years of being on air to patients in Sheffield hospitals. Founded back in 1976, the radio station has continuously broadcast to the patients and staff across the Sheffield hospitals estate.
2021 was a year when we were still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic the station didn't have the opportunity to celebrate this milestone achievement, but in 2026 we will be celebrating 50 years so we will make up for that.
Northern Radio started broadcasting from a small room at the Northern General Hospital.
A derelict hayloft at Lodge Moor Hospital was transformed into a new studio complex.
Several Northern Radio members set up Crystal Radio at the Children's Hospital.
A new studio complex was created at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, launching in January 2000.
The station continues its mission of broadcasting to hospital patients across Sheffield.
Sheffield's Hospital Radio service, broadcasting as Northern Radio, started in 1976 when a few volunteers started broadcasting from a small room at the Northern General Hospital, just off what is now the Vickers corridor. The joke at the time was that the studio was so small records had to be brought in one at a time!!
The main studio desk and looking through the window to the racks room.
In 1979 a derelict hayloft at Lodge Moor Hospital was made available by the Health Authority. This was stripped, renovated and refitted by the volunteer members of Northern Radio in their own time, creating a reception, technical room, broadcast studio, record library, office and kitchen. With the start of the Lodge Moor service, Northern Radio served eight hospitals.
In 1982, seeing that the needs of the Children’s hospital were different to the other hospitals that we served, several members of Northern Radio moved on to set up Crystal Radio, based at the Children's Hospital. Crystal's aim was to provide programmes more suited to children than Northern Radio was able provide at the time.
At this time, Northern Radio broadcast to the eight major hospitals in Sheffield, presented and produced a dedicated request programme 'A Spoonful of Sugar' on Saturday mornings, 7am until 8am on BBC Radio Sheffield directly from their Westbourne Road studios, and also provided a presenter for a twice weekly hourly request slot on Radio Hallam with the late Dave Kilner for all of the hospitals in the Radio Hallam broadcast area. For Northern Radio's 10th anniversary in 1986 there was a celebratory broadcast directly from the Lodge Moor Hospital studios on Radio Hallam with a following party there attended by HBS members and invited guests, including the Programme Controller of Radio Hallam, the legendary Keith Skues, and a visit by the patron of UK hospital radio at that time, the Duchess of Devonshire.
In the late 1980's sweeping hospital rationalisations started, with King Edward VII hospital quickly closing, and Nether Edge hospital being wound down. Lodge Moor hospital was also marked for closure, and Northern Radio again started to search for a new home. Thankfully the Royal Hallamshire Hospital Estates Department offered a former tank room at the hospital which was available for conversion into a studio complex. This was refurbished by the Estates Department during 1998 and then equipped by Northern Radio members, creating a reception area, record library a main studio and a second production studio. The station launch day from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital was at 11am on Monday 17th January 2000.
Ray Drury, Paul Denton and Simon Temple on launch day.
With the move to the new premises, Northern Radio changed its on-air name to reflect the city-wide service, to become Hospital Broadcasting Sheffield.
In 2006, we celebrated 30 years of broadcasting. To celebrate the landmark a number of events took place that September, including a marathon 30-hour live broadcast, a football match against a team from Hallam FM, and a roadshow in Sheffield city centre. There was also a reunion of past and present members at the Rutland Hotel, and a special simultaneous link-up programme with BBC Radio Sheffield, presented by Rony Robinson and broadcast 'live' from our studios.
A further name change to Sheffield Hospital Radio sees the radio station reaching hospital patients via bedside units broadcasting on Channel 1. Using our Myriad automated system we broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week whilst still maintaining quality programming.
Some of you may remember these logos from the days when we were called Northern Radio to today's Sheffield Hospital Radio. Same great service just different names.
Have a listen to some of our old radio jingles and hear how the station has sounded over the years.
