Should you have the misfortune to wind up in one of Cornwall’s hospitals due to ill health or accident, there’s a bunch of volunteers keen to lift your spirits. 

The Community and Hospital Broadcasting Network (CHBN) recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of broadcasting on 100.8 FM in Truro and the surrounding area. Its reach also extends to West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance and St Michael’s in Hayle, and listeners anywhere can tune in via smartphone app or smart speaker.  

The station’s history goes back much further - Truro Hospital Radio was launched as a charity in 1980 thanks to contributions from the Lions Club of Truro. 

Volunteers, friends and supporters gathered at the Royal Cornwall Hospital’s Knowledge Spa to acknowledge these milestones, and to explore its recent complete digital studio upgrade, its touch-screen faders in sharp contrast to dropping the needle on the records of yore. 

CHBN chairman Mark Sanders - who has been with the station for 24 years and whose mother Elizabeth played her own role in the station’s longevity - spoke of the small beginnings of Truro Hospital Radio.

He said: “Today, it is still staffed by 300 volunteers who strive to alleviate the stress and boredom associated with a hospital stay.” 

The move towards community radio status coincided with an NHS strategy towards post-discharge care and support in the home. A three-week trial run was well received, and CHBN began transmitting on 100.8FM in 2014. 

“It helps patients make that transition between hospital and returning home, and also comforts those who feel isolated at home due to poor health. We can also give health and wellbeing advice to reduce the likelihood of readmission.” 

Justin Leigh, best known for his many years presenting BBC Spotlight, is CHBN's Honorary President, and his broadcasting career began at Truro Hospital Radio when it was on air for just a few hours a week. 

Now it offers 24/7 entertainment thanks to a computerised play system that kicks in when volunteers aren’t present; and spanking new studios in the main hospital building at Treliske give presenters access to thousands of songs using 21st-century technology. 

“My entire broadcasting career was born in this very hospital, six years after the station was launched,” said Justin. “I went around the wards, collecting requests. I selected vinyl records and played them on a record player. It seems very primitive now; there wasn’t a lot of output, and it was a bit ramshackle. 

“People would chuckle, and say I was just playing at radio. I have spent the past 20 or 30 years trying to reeducate people, especially in the case of CHBN – there is nothing to distinguish what you do from what the professionals do.

“The range and quality of programming is as good as you’ll find anywhere else, and the equipment is as good if not better. The output is top class.”

Justin paid tribute to volunteers for hanging on in there during the Covid lockdowns. “It would have been very easy for people to walk away, but instead it was the impetus to keep going and build. 

“Local radio is going the other way – it’s not as local as it was. That’s where CHBN really can build on its reputation, serving people who live and work in Cornwall and know it well.”

Truro town crier Lionel Knight was one of the station's earliest volunteers, spending two and a half years on the airwaves during his time as a hospital porter. He recalled gathering patient requests and presenting a Monday evening show. “It was great fun,” he said. 

Way back in 1966, patients were served by the Record Request Programme, run by the Matron's PA Anne Pound from the City Hospital (now Truro Health Park). Requests would be delivered to the matron’s office on slips of paper, and Anne and her father would play the chosen music on an old-fashioned record player, linked to speakers in each of the wards. Despite frantic hand-signals indicating when her father should lower the needle onto the record, the poor man made frequent mistakes, which would be analysed post-show over a pint. 

From this developed the station we know today. Long-serving awards were presented to numerous volunteers, including Peter and Johanna Dowsett, who have been with the station for 45 and 35 years respectively. Peter joined in 1976: “The bug bit me and it will be in my blood until the day I die.” 

An impressive array of programmes is designed to appeal to any musical taste, and is presented by a motley crew of volunteers. Some were inspired by hospital stays of their own, when radio offered them comfort; others have backgrounds in radio, mobile discos and even playing in bands.

Following in the footsteps of Anne and her father are Clarissa Jacobs and father Jeff. Clarissa joined CHBN in 2013, presenting a Friday evening show, attending outside broadcasts at events including the Royal Cornwall Show, and eventually taking on the role of CHBN secretary. 

Jeff was roped in to deliver a seven-day weather forecast, and has been doing so for 11 years, as well as presenting a Sunday lunchtime Sounds of Cornish show, featuring music from silver bands to male voice choirs, as well as Cornish history and a smattering of the Kernewek language. 

While soothing “evergreen” music is popular, it is by no means the only genre that gets airplay. Mark O’Brien plays rock music, especially by local bands, under the title It Could Get Loud; and Richard Edoki, aka Richybongo, hosts African Vibe, sharing music and culture in a bid to help Cornwall’s African population “feel at home, while far away from home”. 

With a background in TV and radio in his native Nigeria, Richard was keen to put his experience to good use at CHBN. He invites hospital staff from Africa to share their experiences of settling and working in Cornwall. “I hope they can learn one or two things about the Cornish culture and lifestyle, and in turn, the Cornish can learn from the Africans.” 

Richybongo is one of several volunteers to come on board post-lockdown. Another, Chris Robins, served in Devon and Cornwall Police and presented a weekly crime spot on BBC Radio Cornwall. He will indulge his interest in local history through specialist programmes based on archive tapes of Cornish voices, to be broadcast later this summer. 

Keeping listeners healthy is of vital importance. At 10.10am every morning, CHBN encourages its audience to take part in 10 minutes of physical activity, inspired by the “radio calisthenics” broadcast to 27-million people in Japan. Not available at 10.10am? Catch-up with sessions via the website at a time of your choosing. 

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust chair Dr Mairi McLean offered “heartfelt thanks” to volunteers, and emphasised the importance of the 24/7 availability. “In the dark hours that are most distressing for people, it’s an incredible help to know there’s another human being out there, dedicating their time and energy to others.”

Tune in to CHBN on 100.8 FM or online on www.chbnradio.org. 

In hospital, connect to the free NHS Wi-Fi network and navigate to: chbnradio.org/wifi

The CHBN radio app is available on Apple and Android devices, on Amazon Alexa and Google Home.