Celebrations mark 50 years of Wigan hospital trust radio

A series of well-attended events was held by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) to mark the special occasion with the volunteers who run the radio station at the site being presented with a certificate and special birthday cake to commemorate 50 years of broadcasting by chief nurse Rabina Tindale.

The studio hosted an open day with opportunities for patients, visitors, the public and staff to look around to see how it works, alongside a live broadcast from the café at Wrightington Hospital and interviews with Rabina and WWL’s medical director, Prof Sanjay Arya.

Acknowledging the WWL Radio Volunteers in a speech, Ms Tindale said: “WWL’s radio station broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and this is thanks to the dedication of the WWL Radio team.

“Since I was a student nurse, I have always recognised that hospital radio can be such a boost to patients.

"I would like to thank WWL Radio for their commitment and enthusiasm in bringing this service to the forefront for our patients and our staff. Happy 50th birthday WWL Radio and a huge thank you from me to all the WWL Radio volunteers for all their hard work and support.”

The team also send out live broadcasts from the community and in the last year have included programmes from the Remembrance Day Armed Forces Service from the Chaplaincy at RAEI; a Christmas Carol Concert from the Lancashire Mining Museum by the combined Astley Brass Bands and the Family Fun Day at Wrightington.

Dianne Herring, chair of WWL Radio who also attended the celebration event, said: “Thank you everyone for joining us in celebrating 50 years of WWL Radio.

"We are always striving to push ourselves further and get out and about in the community and, as WWL Radio can broadcast from anywhere, please contact us if you have an event you would like us to promote or even attend.”

If you would like to contact WWL Radio about an event or an interesting idea for a programme, or if you would like to volunteer to help in all aspects of running the station you can call the team on 01257 256361, email [email protected] or visit www.wwlradio.co.uk