THIRTY five years after hitting the airwaves, Dudley Hospital Radio is hitting the world wide web by taking its shows online.

As well as providing a lifeline to many of the hundreds of patients in the wards of Russells Hall Hospital, the volunteers are now letting patients’ friends and family also tune in.

Tucked away in a mobile hut behind the hospital, a group of 28 volunteers have kept the station running for over three decades, since a youth group was challenged to set up a hospital radio station in 1975.

And founding member Dave Brownhill, now Programme Controller, said it was “fantastic” as the station was one of the first hospital radios in the country to take the online leap.

Dave, aged 52, said: “It enables us to put the show out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which also gives us the chance to repeat some of our programmes.

“When we go and speak to patients, their relatives always ask if they can listen at home and we have always had to say no, sorry it’s only internal. But it’s great now to say yes, you can online.

“We have seen a big increase in text requests from relatives listening at home. It is a really exciting time and I’m really pleased to be part of it.”

The station broadcasts between 7pm and 10pm Mondays to Thursdays as well as Sunday afternoons, with plans to extend the show to a Friday evenings.

All patients can access the radio station through the headphones at their bedsides, with many shows being patient request shows. The station’s huge music library has thousands of vinyls, cds and downloads, to allow the presenters to find most of the requests, which are collected from patients by the dedicated band of volunteers.

And to enable the team’s work to continue, the station is looking to recruit a further 12 volunteers.

Dave said: “Volunteers are needed to go round the wards and collect requests from patients between 7pm and 8pm. We are looking for people who can give up three hours per week, to chat to patients and collect songs. It can be so interesting to chat to them, and we always target patients first who don’t have visitors to make sure everyone is spoken to.

“The volunteers then come back to the studio and help us with the show. Volunteers also help during the summer months when we do most of our fundraising. We have a mobile studio, a stage and PA system which we take out to local events. We have to find £4,000 a year to keep the station up and running and because of our volunteers we have always managed to do that.”

Anyone wanting to volunteer is asked to call 01384 234222.

For more information about the station visit dudleyhospitalradio.co.uk And to listen online visit shoutcast.com and search for Dudley Hospital Radio.