Volunteer
Maybe you’ve caught the radio bug, or perhaps are wanting to get involved with some local voluntary work within hospital radio, making a real difference to patients here at the Horton General Hospital and to the local community. Whether you like chatting behind a microphone, face-to-face, or perhaps becoming involved with some great fundraising activities, this page will give you a bit of an insight into our volunteering opportunities and what it’s like to be part of hospital radio.
Presentation
Watch our presentation which details more about volunteering with Radio Horton or read our current volunteer vacancies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hospital Broadcasting in the UK
All over the UK, patients can hear music, news and information from their local hospital radio service. Radio Horton exists to provide information and to promote good health and wellbeing for patients in the Horton General Hospital and for the general public in and around North Oxfordshire.
Hospital radio aims to provide comfort and entertainment with a special mix of music and chat. The service also keeps patients at the hospital or in Care Homes in touch with their family and friends with music requests and local news items over the Internet.
Our station is a member of the Hospital Broadcasting Association (HBA), a national organisation which oversees the many hospital radio stations across the country. If you are not in Banbury but want to become involved with your hospital radio station, visit the HBA Member Stations website for details of your local station.
Like all hospital stations, Radio Horton is run entirely by dedicated volunteers, who give many valuable hours to help provide a first class broadcasting service. We have no paid staff and receive no regular income from the NHS or other Government sources.
- What’s involved in being a volunteer in hospital broadcasting?
We provide a special service and only a small part is about presenting radio programmes! Keeping the station running takes a lot of work, and most stations expect volunteers to help with a range of jobs including:
Ward Visitors:
We are looking for warm friendly people with good communication skills who are prepared to spend time explaining to patients what Radio Horton has to offer and taking requests. Some wards now have dedicated Radio Horton digital radios, but patients can otherwise listen on their own digital tablets or phones, or via over the bed headsets. A Ward Visitor can help to explain how best to listen to Radio Horton.
Outside Broadcast Assistants
We are seeking to expand our outdoor events assitance for our sponsors and other local organisations. To that end, we need assistants to help set up our equipment at the beginning of events and to dismantle the equipment at the end. There can be opportunities for some presenting and seeking requests too!
Promotion/publicity and fundraising
We rely entirely on donations and sponsorship and so if you have experience in marketing or fundraising and could help us to raise Radio Horton’s profile and bring in our essential funding, we would be delighted to have you join us.
Administration
Could you assist us with Minute Taking for our monthly Trustee and Committee meetings? The ability to take notes, record them in Minutes and circulate them by email is all that is required.
• What skills do I need?
You should be able to communicate well. It helps if you are outgoing and enjoy meeting people, especially for collecting requests on the wards or fundraising for Radio Horton. You don’t need expert knowledge of music, nor any technical expertise. The most important skills you can contribute are a willingness to learn, be part of a team and be able to make a regular commitment.
• Do I have to go on air?
Most members want to be involved in programmes, but you won’t be forced to speak on air if you don’t want to! You’ll be equally welcome if you just want to visit the wards, chat to the patients, help at outside events or collect requests.
• How much time will I have to give?
If you are looking to be involved with a programme, this can only work if you are able to make a regular commitment, during daytime or evening. We can be fairly flexible in terms of when you volunteer but would ask that this is a regular commitment of at least one hour per week.
Presenting a show doesn’t just mean turning up at the studio and going on air, it also means visiting the wards to collect requests or liaising with our ward visitors to organise the requests gathered, finding the recordings in the library and the music playout system, presenting the programme, and putting everything away afterwards.
There is a probation period for all new members which helps Radio Horton colleagues get to know new members and vice versa. It is hoped that all members will support the fundraising, public events and outside broadcasts. Because stations are run by volunteers, most extra activities happen in the evenings or at weekends.
You will be invited to attend any membership meetings and our Annual General Meeting (AGM). These are great opportunities to get more involved, meet other members and find out what’s going on and ask any questions to the trustees.
• Is there an age limit?
Radio Horton requires that members are aged 16 and over. You may only stand as a trustee if you are 18 or over.
• Can I join the committee?
We have a number of vacancies on our trustee board and in particular look for individuals who may offer a skillset that is required to oversee certain elements of managing the organisation. Roles may include (but are not limited to): Chairperson; Treasurer; Secretary; Events Coordinator; Programme Coordinator; Ward Visitor Liaision; Membership Administrator; Publicity & Marketing; Fundraising Officer; to name but a few.
If you do not have a particular skill to offer but wish to stand on the committee we do allow for some roles without a specific portfolio.
Members can stand for election prior to an AGM and be voted by the membership. Please contact the Chair, Ann Dunn, if you have any questions and/or would like to stand for a position.
You can find full details of roles we are recruiting for on our Committee Vacancies page.
• Does Radio Horton offer Work Experience placements?
As a voluntary organisation, Radio Horton is unable to offer work experience. However, on request we may be able to give brief studio visits and group discussions about hospital radio, or work with students undertaking a Duke of Edinburgh award where voluntary work may be a prerequisite. Please contact the Committee for more information.
What will it cost?
There is an annual membership subscription of £30.00. In return you will be given a Radio Horton name badge and a parking permit and NHS ID lanyard (if your role requires you to be at the studio or in the hospital). The annual subscription is payable in April each year. Concessions are made for students and seniors and there are exemptions dependent on an individual’s personal circumstances,which we would be happy to discuss with prospective candidates.
• Will hospital broadcasting help my career?
Any voluntary work can be put on your CV (and that applies to any job, not just the media). This experience can also be included in a UCAS personal statement. However, it is all good experience – many professional broadcasters started in hospital stations and we’ll be happy to share our skills with you as long as you support a range of station activities.
Radio Horton has, in the past, had volunteers go on to work as broadcast journalists, reporters or presenters for the BBC, Sky and some commercial broadcasters too. Others have launched podcasts or found they have been able to utilise their experience in new environments, for example, public speaking.
• How do I find Radio Horton?
The Radio Horton studios are on the ground floor of the Horton General Hospital next to the Children’s ward, 101 Oxford Road, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 9AL. The studio phone number is 01295 229211 and you can contact us by email, [email protected]. There are regular bus services to the Horton, to and from Banbury Town Centre. Visit the Horton General Hospital website for more details.
• Recruitment of volunteers
We ask prospective volunteers to complete and return an application form and then invite them to visit the studio so that you can find out more about us and we can get to know you.
As part of the joining process you will be asked to:
- Complete an online Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check, which will require you providing to us three documents to confirm proof of identity. We will also need residential address history for the last five years.
- Provide 2 independent references.
- Complete a Health Assessment online, as required by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Complete statutory and mandatory training required by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and affirm that you adhere to the Acceptable Behaviours Policy and I.T. Policy set out by Radio Horton.
• Getting Started
Once we receive satisfactory references and DBS clearance, we will invite you to the studio for an induction session, and make arrangements for you to start volunteering, and to undertake all of the necessary training.
Still keen? We hope we’ve answered all the questions you’re asking, but if we haven’t, you’re welcome to give us a shout and we will certainly do our best to put your mind at ease. Just drop us an email for more information.
Click one of the buttons below to apply to become a member, or if you’re still undecided, why not register your interest and we’ll be pleased to meet you to talk about our volunteering opportunities and give you a tour of our studio.
We look forward to welcoming you on board!
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