Hospital radio is evolving from offering companionship on the wards to bringing health and wellbeing broadcasting to the community, finds Richard Hurley General practitioner (GP) Victoria Wilson presents a weekly live show on Hospital Radio Exeter after she visits the wards to take music requests and dedications. “It’s a nice way to interact with patients. Some patients want to chat but then don’t request a song,” she tells The BMJ . “But if they've enjoyed the conversation then that's equally as worthwhile.” Wilson explains: “Patients often have magazines and books, but when they’re feeling poorly, listening to something in bed, eyes closed, might take less energy yet it's still entertaining or distracting.” The Hospital Broadcasting Association supports 170 such UK stations, mostly charities, and several thousand volunteers like Wilson with the aim “to aid patient recovery and promote health and wellbeing to all listeners.” Many patients still access the radio through hospital bedside units: on average 1231 a day for 6.2 hours each across the UK in November 2024. But broken bedside units are often not replaced, and increasingly hospital radio is available on FM and DAB (digital audio broadcast), online, and through apps and smart speakers. Some patients may not have, or may struggle to use, their own device, and stations may also fundraise to distribute radios to wards. Many stations run on NHS sites—often in cupboards, given the high demand for space. Increasingly, however, stations have studios in the community, and some broadcast to GP surgeries, care homes, and the wider public, and with increasing programming …

中文翻译：

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从床边的朋友到所有人的健康顾问：医院广播的雄心壮志如何扩大


理查德·赫尔利 （Richard Hurley） 发现，医院广播正在从在病房提供陪伴发展为将健康和福祉广播带到社区。全科医生 （GP） 维多利亚·威尔逊 （Victoria Wilson） 在访问病房接受音乐请求和奉献后，每周在埃克塞特医院广播电台上主持现场直播。“这是与患者互动的好方法。有些患者想聊天，但后来就不要求唱歌，“她告诉 The BMJ。“但是，如果他们喜欢这次谈话，那么这同样值得。”Wilson 解释说：“患者通常有杂志和书籍，但当他们感觉不佳时，闭着眼睛在床上听东西可能会消耗更少的精力，但它仍然很有趣或分散注意力。医院广播协会支持 170 个这样的英国电台，其中大部分是慈善机构，以及数千名像 Wilson 这样的志愿者，旨在“帮助患者康复并促进所有听众的健康和福祉”。许多患者仍然通过医院床边病房使用无线电：2024 年 11 月，英国平均每天 1231 人，每人 6.2 小时。但是，破损的床头柜通常无法更换，越来越多的医院广播可以通过 FM 和 DAB（数字音频广播）、在线以及应用程序和智能扬声器获得。一些患者可能没有或可能难以使用自己的设备，电台也可能会筹集资金以将收音机分发到病房。鉴于对空间的高需求，许多站点在 NHS 站点上运行——通常在橱柜中。然而，越来越多的电台在社区设有演播室，有些电台向全科医生手术室、疗养院和更广泛的公众广播，并且随着节目的增加......