From the ground up, the majority of the membership of the National Association of Hospital Broadcasting Organisations are volunteers. The association is in place to oversee hospital radio in the UK and while it does have its rules and regulations it is in place primarily to offer support to the DJs and hospitals who offer a hospital radio format.
They do this in two ways, through a variety of services, offering guidance on how best to utilise hospital radio and secondly through their charity aspect and sponsorship of individual stations. Enabling hospitals and their staff to also raise funds to keep their individual hospital radio on air.
Why do they do this? Well this isn't just any normal radio station. While music and news and updates on traffic are the norm for citizens listening to radio the world over. A hospital radio probably doesn't need to inform of traffic on the M25 or burglaries in people's homes as many people don't wish to be reminded of the incident or accident that put them in hospital in the first place.
A dose of reality is a good thing but it has been proven that certain selections of music, a positive attitude and a cheery personality can do the world of good for a patient looking to rehabilitate and get through their time more easily while bed ridden or staying over night for a few days.
The Hospital broadcasting Association supports and provides advice and guidance to its membership. Of which there are currently 212 hospitals with radio stations that are members. Staff and the public can also be members, which could widen their career possibilities and maybe kick start their career into wider broadcasting and the mainstream.
Of course every association requires a committee to oversee proceedings, these too are volunteers and are elected by its members on a continual basis. An Annual general Meeting is held at the same time as the Hospital Radio Awards.
The latter rewards volunteers for their work and the former addresses any problems or information releases that the members wish to get into the open and to a wider audience.
These events are also good as charity functions and organising further events to raise money in support of the collective hospital radio stations across the UK. Which depend wholly on charity to be able to operate and further raise money for the hospitals they reside within.