Red Dot Radio: Edinburgh Hospital Broadcasting Service
“We are indebted to the cheery volunteers, who are doing such a great job and your support for this service is greatly value,” - Listener
Red Dot Radio is the hospital radio for four of the Edinburgh hospitals run by a group of volunteer broadcast enthusiasts.
It was set up in 1962 when it was originally called the Forth Radio Network. The FRN asked the Football Broadcast Committee to use their system during the evenings when it would not be required for football commentary. It was in the 1970s that the station became entirely self-funding.
The station is now based at the Western General Hospital but also played out in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Royal Victoria Hospital and Corstorphine Hospital. Red Dot Radio now broadcasts every evening a feature programme followed by a patient requests show.
“During the past three weeks, while a patient in the Western General Hospital, I have become a frequent listener to Red Dot Radio. In particular, I have enjoyed the request programme between 8pm and 10pm and this has become a very sociable event as several patients gather together to hear their requests being played, to sing along at the top of our voices and to form teams to participate in the quizzes.”
The station has undergone various changes over the years, from the number of hospitals to which it broadcasts to the shows that it broadcasts. It has even moved premises twice. For the future it plans to carry on entertaining the patients of Edinburgh hospitals.
Created July 19, 2012
