Click on the AUDIO button at the top of the screen to hear a wide variety of clips from Hospital Radio Perth through the years.

Hospital radio really began in Perth in the 1960s when a small group of dedicated people brought commentary from St Johnstone matches at Muirton Park to patients at Perth Royal Infirmary. Unfortunately the service only lasted a few years.

Hospital Radio Perth was the brainchild of Stuart Kennedy. Stuart moved to Perth from Lanarkshire, where he had been part of Monklands Hospital Radio. He was surprised to find that there was no broadcasting network at Perth Royal Infirmary and contacted the hospital in the mid 80's in an effort to set one up.

With the help of friends and family, Stuart began raising funds and preparing the way for the new organisation. A public meeting in the Lovat Hotel in 1988 saw additional support, including the arrival of current members John Watson - who had been involved with hospital broadcasting in Kirkcaldy - and Donna Lamont.

The health authority was keen to help, and soon a second floor room was converted into a tiny studio with small record library and storage area. A public appeal saw records donated from all corners of Perth and Kinross. At 7.30pm on 20th February 1989 the new committee and several of the hospital senior management crowded into the new studio to hear Stuart launch the new service. "Good evening PRI and welcome to Hospital Radio Perth."

From the start the organisation was determined that it would place as much emphasis on patient visiting as it did on programme broadcasting. It was gratifying therefore that only 6 months after the launch the organisation won the Scottish Regional Patients' Choice Award. The competition was organised by Mills and Boon and our listening audience cast the votes.

Two programmes each week grew to four, then to five nights per week, then six, as more and more members joined. In the spring of 1990 we joined forces with Monklands Hospital Radio Service to broadcast commentary from McDiarmid Park. St Johnstone v Airdrie was widely accepted as the best game of that season and a win for Saints resulted in promotion to the Premier League. Hospital Radio Perth have been broadcasting Saints commentary ever since! Rather fitting considering the early origins of hospital broadcasting in Perth.

We launched our annual fun days - initially in the St John's Centre and latterly at Perth Leisure Pool and began our tradition of outside broadcasts with Perth Council of Churches Christmas Carol Service.

By 1992, it was apparent that we were outgrowing our accommodation. The construction of the new hospital meant that a building became available in the hospital grounds and we began a huge fund-raising initiative to finance the move. In a period of 12 months we raised over £25,000. Not just enough to finance the renovations, but enough to install a second studio.

Seven days off air and we had moved to the new premises. Now we had the facilities to broadcast seven evenings a week.

Who could we invite to open the new premises? There was only one candidate. The patients' favourite singer. And so, on one chilly December evening in 1995, armed with his request slips, it was Daniel O'Donnell who headed off into the wards of PRI! He visited four wards, collected loads of requests, kissed the nurses, cuddled the patients and created mayhem all round before returning to the studio, unveiling the plaque and helping to broadcast the programme. Even now, patients ask us if he's coming back!

Our next project was to purchase high quality radio transmission equipment. Half the gear allowed us to broadcast to Murray Royal whilst the other half allowed us to transmit live events from around Perth - concerts and shows from the City Hall, Racing from Scone, fun days, Perth Show, the list was endless.

Our dedication to providing a personal service for our listeners was recognised in 1996, when we were announced the UK Hospital Radio Station of the Year - a feat which we repeated in 1997 and 1999 to become the most successful hospital broadcasting station ever in the United Kingdom.

In the year 2000, grant aid allowed us to buy a substantial computer system that has brought 24 hours a day, 7 days a week programmes tailored to the hospital patient.

In 2002 the organisation began a huge fund-raising drive aimed at replacing the trusty but worn out equipment with which we had launched the station 15 years earlier.

Two years later and we had raised sufficient funds to install new state of the art studios that are the envy of radio stations across the country.

April 2007 saw HRP once more back at the top in UK Hospital Broadcasting, winning both the Station Of The Year and Special Events trophies at the Hospital Radio Awards in Northampton.

A month later John Watson stood down as Chairman after 17 years in the post and was succeeded by current Chairman, Steven Robb who had been with the station for a dozen years, two of those as Vice-Chairman.

Since the 1980s, it has been the dedication and hard work of our members, which has ensured a quality service for patients in Perth's hospitals - a service that continues to go from strength to strength and is widely recognised as one of the best in the United Kingdom.

With the patients' favourite music, news, interviews and information, plus the very best in outside broadcasts from across Perth and Kinross; Hospital Radio Perth is staying at the cutting edge of hospital broadcasting.