QA Radio

QA Hospital Radio (Portsmouth Hospital Broadcasting).

We serve the patients and staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

About QA Radio

We began active broadcasting from St. Mary's in 1971 covering St. James & Haslar as well as QA, with contacts at Fratton Park and Portsmouth Guildhall. Time (and money) however wittled it down to our two major studios and after a period of relative stability running two productive and active studios we arrived one day to find St. Mary's two feet deep in rainwater! Water and electricity do not mix - they can be quite shocking (sorry couldn't resist) so despite renovation scrubbing and cleaning it became obvious that our underground haven was becoming untenable, so the decision was taken to close it and to concentrate on QA.

In December 1996 we had only one studio at QA and the equipment because of its age was becoming less and less reliable. We desperately needed another so we embarked on a hectic round of fundraising and were very fortunate in receiving support from Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire County Council and a number of local companies and of course our colleagues The League of Friends. Through their generosity we were able to make our first broadcast from it on Christmas Eve 1996.

In 2004 however we were given our marching orders due to the imminent rebuilding of QA into a "Super Hospital". We were asked to leave our studio complex and relocate to St. Mary's where we'd begun and all our problems began again.

The hospital helped our move to set up another studio within its complex but because of technical difficulties we were off air for the longest time in our history. The reason we were eventually able to open up in Feb 2005 was down to a lot of hard work by our members and again the help from the authorities and friends. We didn't stay for long although St. Mary's has again made us welcome. Due to the re-building and demolition we up-camped and returned to QA in 2010 with a brand new location - B level, a new name, QA Radio but with the same dedication to provide quality entertainment for the patients. This was made possible by a generous donation from Mike Waterland and the hard work and persistence of our band of volunteers who once again gave their time and expertise to the cause.

The summer saw up and running with live broadcasts plus a new innovation - a 24 Hour Service. QA Radio is a registered charity (Charity No 261548) with 20 presenters and 30 other members. Not only are all who work for the station volunteers but they pay an annual subscription to be a member. It costs approximately £3000 a year to run the station and all our funds come from donations and the kindness of strangers. Any donation however small would be gratefully received and the donor would have the satisfaction of knowing they are contributing to the benefit of the patients and the upkeep of QA Radio. To them, all the people who have so generously helped us now and in previous times, our friends in The League of Friends in both QA and St. Mary's we send our heartfelt thanks because without you QA Radio would not be the success it is today.