BHBN Hospital Radio holds 24 hour charity Radiothon

BHBN Hospital Radio, based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, has raised £217 for charity after it held a 24 hour fundraising Radiothon.

The Radiothon saw the station broadcast live from 9am on Friday 5 July through to 9am on Saturday 6 July, raising money for BHBN and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity as well as celebrating its ‘Station of the Year’ win at this year’s national Hospital Broadcasting Association awards.

BHBN is entirely run by volunteers and while it broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the Queen Elizabeth, the Womens’ Hospital, City Hospital, Heartlands, Good Hope in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull Hospital, much of its programming during the day is automated.

The Radiothon was the first the station has held since 2002 and included live performances from Sutton Coldfield band ‘No Direction’ and singer/songwriter Lucy Shaw from Bromsgrove. Presenters also held a raffle and went around the wards to collect requests and play games with patients.

BHBN’s Vice Chairman Dave Horton said, “We’re really pleased the Radiothon was a success in raising cash for the hospitals as well as increasing awareness about the service BHBN provides. We had lots of patients ringing up throughout the day for requests, there was great feedback from people who visited our stall in the QE and some of the hospital staff even came to tour our studios. We’re already planning our next Radiothon which we hope won’t be another 17 years away!”

Patients can listen to BHBN on their bedside headsets by selecting radio channel 9 in the Queen Elizabeth and Womens’ Hospital or channel 5 in the other hospitals. BHBN is also available online at bhbn.net or via smartphones by downloading the TuneIn radio app.

The BHBN 24hr Radiothon was supported by the PPL PRS charity and community discount scheme. PPL PRS licences the use of copyright music across the UK, giving businesses and organisations the permission they need to play the music they want.