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2003 Year Twenty Seven

2003 Summary of Events

Stories and snippets of information taken from the staff newsletter and from behind the scenes.

A look back at 2003 at Radio Heatherwood and all the events of the year.

The year 2003 found the station dealing with the introduction of the Rhapsody 24 hour broadcast service which included the training of staff on computers and also the production of jingles and liners for the program. In addition new equipment was added to each studio.

Training evenings were held for presenters and training materials were produced for each member of staff.

The other event taking place in the background was the progress of the patient power project to bring TV radio and telephone to each bedhead.

January to March

Patient Power

In January at a league meeting with the hospital the hospital intend now to turn on some wards as soon as they are finished. no word yet of when that will be.

Stan on Wednesdays accepted a donation of £1.10 from Mrs Croucher on ward 3 who insisted on giving it to us personally.

A request came in last week from a relative in Melbourne Australia for a Dennis Davies who was admitted.

A test transmission weekend planned for the 4/5/6 April will barring any major problems go ahead as planned. The programs will commence 7pm on the Friday ending until 7pm on the Monday night before the normal evenings broadcast.

Rhapsody

January through to March found the station engineer completing the integration of the new computers into the studio's. March 26th and the physical installation work is complete.
April to June

Rhapsody Goes Live

Test Transmission for the new 24 hour service start in April.

Easter weekend special programs are provided by the Rhapsody service.

Good Friday 24 Hours Sounds of the 70's

Easter Saturday 24 Hours Sounds of the 80's

Easter Sunday 24 Hours Sounds of the 50's including Films & Shows

Easter Monday Until 12 midnight Sounds of the 60's

Tuesday 22nd April - Friday 25th April 4pm-12pm Radio Heatherwood Music Mix

A new cooling unit is added to the engineering room which is critical for the new equipment.

On 4th May members of the league committee attended a presentation on Rhapsody at the studio, despite the absence of the representative of the trust the evening went well and the league are very pleased with all our efforts.

A new playlist for presenters comes into operation on the 7th June, with the launch of Rhapsody.

At three minutes past twelve on the 7th June, Rhapsody begins broadcasting for 24 hours a day. The service is launched with a message from the station engineer/secretary.

2003 Year Twenty Seven Story Unfolds

2003 was a very busy year for the station management and as the year unfolded there was much to do and organise

For further information about this year:- Follow the links

July to September

The station says goodbye to Laraine Bridges. Laraine who joined in 1999 had become a valued member of the team and with her husband had provided fantastic support for the service.

In August the station has to close the Monday nights.
October to December

A postal donation of £5 was received recently from a former patient on ward ten, who made use of the loan radio whilst on the ward. The lady thanked us for our service and said how much she enjoyed the service.

The sink at long last has been installed and is available to be used for washing up and access to water.

Victoria Hall Trust

I have just received a cheque £425 from the trust which pays for the new term of the OFCOM licence which commences in January.

PPL Licence Fee

Bad news on the horizon for the radio with more charges to levied by PPL

Recent correspondence has confirmed early next year all Hospital radio's will be charged an annual licence fee along with a one off payment for all music held on computer systems.

Radio Heatherwood already pays £488 a year PPL fee this will change.

Staff Recruitment

An un-authorized press releases by BCVS and a member of our staff produced a flurry of new applications adding to the workload of an already busy management team.

The loan radio's are taken of ward 1 at the end of November by the infection control nurse, this adds to the frustration for the radio and League of Friends.

No news of when the radio will be connected to the new bed head system.

Staff Joining This Year 1 Staff Leaving 5

Archive Gems

Just some extra's we found:-

Patient Feedback

Email Requests

Subject: I would like to send a message to My Friend/Relative in Heatherwood

hi,please send a big hello to my mum Brenda Austin on ward 8 unfortunately I live quite a long drive away and my not be able to come and see her,any songs will do as she likes all music so I am sure she will be listening.we are thinking of her and wish we could see her

love from

Caroline and Pete
Subject: I would like to send a message to My Friend/Relative in Heatherwood

TO MY DEAR FRIEND SHARON BOURNE WHO IS HAVING AN EMERGENCY OP THIS AFTERNOON (FRI) YVONNE AND NICHOLAS WOULD LIKE TO WISH HER ALL THE BEST AND WE HOPE SHE MAKES A SPEEDY RECOVERY

LOVE FROM YVONNE & NICHOLAS.
Subject: I would like to send a message to My Friend/Relative in Heatherwood

Please could you send a message to Liza Cracknell, send her all of our love from her mother, Heather, Father, Michael brother Robert Starinovich who live in Staplehurst Kent.

We love you Liza, get well soon xxx

A dedication would also be most appreciated if at all possible.

Many Thanks

Heather Starinovich
Video Recorder

The video recorder was used to record the output of the station for OFCOM.

Presenters would have to start the recorder each time they broadcast.
In the new year 2004 this is to be replaced with recording on hard disk in mp3 format and will be automatic.

2003 The Story Continues!

2003 Year Twenty Seven

2003 Summary of Events

January to March

April to June

2003 Year Twenty Seven Story Unfolds

July to September

October to December

Patient Feedback

Video Recorder