About Us

We are a hospital radio station broadcasting to the patients of St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children, part of the Epsom and St Helier University Hospital NHS Trust

We broadcast 24 hours a day, and always aim to provide live programmes every evening between 7pm – 10pm and throughout the weekend. When possible, on a daily basis, our dedicated volunteers will visit the wards and collect requests from patients. They will then return to our studios where they will prepare and present a radio show.

We also have a number of specialist shows including the best in soul, gospel and rock music. 

You can check our our full schedule here.

History

While lying in his bath at home, Mike Button thought it would be a great idea if St Helier Hospital had its own radio station. After an agreement with the Hospital management, Radio St Helier was born and began broadcasting on the 6th June 1970.

Originally broadcasting from a corner of the Chaplain’s changing room, over time Radio St Helier took over a very small room. By the late early 80’s the station had grown in members, programmes and equipment, becoming a fully functional radio station. It was decided that the station had outgrown, to say the least, its original location. A search for ‘a place of our own’ began in the late 80’s.

 Within the hospital, there were no suitable areas that could be refurbished, the hospital management identified an unused area as a possible site, where Radio St Helier could construct a purpose built studio. With this in mind, the members of the station began a major fundraising project. Over three years, £125,000 was raised with assistance from the local community and businesses. Our current studios were officially opened on the station’s 21st Birthday on 6th June 1991.

Over the years, we have had hundreds of members all whom have helped the station to get to where we are now! On a number of occasions, we have been lucky enough to be granted a restricted service licence to broadcast on FM and recent years via the internet. Most recently on our 40th Birthday in 2010. We were being heard not only within the hospital, but on FM across the road, and as far afield as Thailand.

The Comittee

Today

Still going, as strong as the day we started. Over 1000 live hours broadcasting, with our volunteers offering up a combined 5,000 hours of their time. Although the presenters and music changes, one thing remains the same, the Patient. You are the reason our volunteers dedicate their time, on a weekly basis, to entertain and be a friend by your bedside. 

 In our 49th year we upgraded our studios, which had remained almost unchanged for over 20 years. None of this work would have been possible without the bequest from Neil Heayes! Now in our 55^th year we have more work to do and equipment to update and replace. 

While any improvements are carried out, our aim will remain to provide entertainment to the patients and staff of St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children.

We will still broadcast live every evening from 7-10pm and throughout the day at weekends.

So why not request your favourite song? Go on, pick up the handset and press the ‘HOSPITAL RADIO’ button on your bedside entertainment unit! Or send an email to studio@radiosthelier.co.uk

Funding

Radio St Helier is a registered charity and is not funded by government, NHS or the BBC licence fee. We rely on membership, donations, outside events and sponsorship.

To make a donation, please make cheques made payable to ‘Radio St Helier’ and send to Radio St Helier, St Helier Hospital, Wrythe Lane, Carshalton. SM5 1AA. If you would like to sponsor a programme email requests@raiosthelier.co.uk

We can also provide our public address system to school fates, car boot sales and public and private events.

Got an event that you want us to attend? Get In Contact

The Music We Play

We’re always being asked, “I don’t suppose you’ve got that one I want?”, or “What sort of music do you play?”. Well the answer to the first question is we probably have, and to the second – almost anything from Enrico Caruso (1913) to the current UK chart number 1. We don’t have playlists, because our listeners choose the music!

Radio St. Helier’s music collection has grown and grown. We started in 1970 with a small, donated collection and a few records that the original DJs bought themselves. Today, we have tens of thousands of songs in digital, CD and vinyl formats.

Radio St Helier is a registered charity and a member of theHospital Broadcasting Association