Hospital Radio Exeter was born in 1974 when pirate radio stations were one of the few ways radio enthusiasts could hit the airwaves.  

Initially the station for patients broadcast from a ‘broom closet’ studio in the old Wonford Hospital using BT landlines to the RD&E sites in Wonford and Heavitree.

Since then, it has become a much-loved pillar of the RD&E broadcasting 24/7 to patients and available for anyone to listen via an app or online.

“We had someone listening in from Costa Rica the other day,” says Hospital Radio Exeter (HRE) chairman and founding member Malcolm Mardon.

“HRE became part of my life 50 years ago” he says. “Over the years I’ve met and worked with many lovely people, some of whom have gone on to great jobs in the industry from the BBC to Times Radio, from ITV to careers in journalism. But I never joined with those ambitions – I just wanted to make patients’ stay in hospital a bit more comfortable,” he says.

It is this ethos that drives the station, and has done since local police officer Terry Roberts first looked into starting HRE. The idea of providing a service aimed at making patients’ stay in the hospital more pleasant and less of an ordeal did not initially convince the Health Authority, but Terry was determined and in December 1974 permission was granted.

Initially just five hours of programming over two days a week was possible, but this increased to the 24/7 output HRE provides today.

HRE’s contribution to patients’ happiness was fully recognised when the RD&E’s facilities were consolidated into one site in Wonford in 1994 and HRE was provided with two studios, an office, a racks room, music library and reception area.

The radio station still uses LPs and boasts an amazing vinyl collection. These days the station can also rely heavily on digital formats, and syndicated programming which allows it to broadcast around the clock.

There are slots on health matters, pop quizzes, music genres such as soul and gospel, or special decades, and other curated topics, however the most popular shows remain the hosted evening shows that play requests. Every evening, Monday to Friday, various HRE volunteers will walk the wards of the RD&E checking in with patients and taking requests. In fact, one long term patient puts in a request every evening – most times for Frank Sinatra’s My Way, but sometimes for Dolly Parton.

HRE is staffed entirely by volunteers who pay a small subscription to become part of the team, and after that relies heavily on public donations and public fundraising. Anyone interested in supporting HRE in any way is welcome to find out more via www.hospitalradioexeter.com

If you would like to put in a request for a friend or family member in the RD&E this is also possible by texting 07469 979 881 or by filling in this request form www.hospitalradioexeter.com/make-a-request/request-music-form