Radio Halton

Radio Halton is a charitable broadcaster based at Halton General Hospital in Runcorn. Its audience includes patients, staff and people attending the hospital, with local volunteers presenting music and conversation. Requests collected on the wards connect the programme team with listeners who may have little opportunity to take part in wider community activity during their stay.

The music offering includes older popular records and a dedicated classic rock programme. Interviews add another dimension, with local fundraising and support organisations among the subjects covered. Recordings of those conversations remain available through the station, allowing listeners to return to material they missed when it was first broadcast.

The service was established in 1986, and its music spans the 1950s to current releases. A rotating Record of the Week lets one presenter introduce a selection that colleagues then share across their programmes. Healthwatch Halton contributes a regular local strand, while Derek Gates' interviews have included SPACE Runcorn. Lisa Cowley, John Timms and Dave Cooper are among the volunteer voices, with many of the same people also helping to manage and sustain the charity.

Presenters also contribute to the administration, fundraising and technical work needed to maintain the service. The organisation's request system welcomes individual messages as well as music choices, giving friends and relatives a way to acknowledge someone in hospital. Radio Halton's combination of local voices and patient contact keeps the Runcorn healthcare setting central to its identity.