PATIENTS of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) will be treated to a 60-hour marathon broadcast being held to help raise money for the Bay Trust hospital radio station over the Easter weekend.

Kendal town crier Richard Mathews will be launching the Easter Extravaganza at 10am on Saturday (April 19). The broadcast will then be hosted from the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Elephant Yard in Kendal and also from the Glebe at Bowness.

There will be live entertainment from singers Kev Kendal, Sam Davidson and the Milnthorpe Steel Band to keep the listeners entertained when broadcasting from Elephant Yard.

Along with the live entertainment there will be a free prize draw being held over the weekend. Anyone who cannot make it down to the live broadcast can donate to the hospital radio by texting BTRKO1 £2/ £5/ £10 to 70070.

John Williamson, President of Bay Trust Radio, said: “The team have set an ambitious target and the money raised will help make sure Bay Trust Radio can keep going. We hope to get lots of listeners over the marathon weekend and hopefully even more coming to see us broadcasting across Cumbria and Lancashire.”

Barry Rigg, Engagement Manager, UHMBT, said: “Hospital radio provides a lifeline for our patients and we would wish Bay Trust Radio every success with their marathon broadcast effort.”

Hospital radio began in Kendal in February 1977 with live broadcasts to the Westmorland County Hospital. It broadened out in 2008 when the Trust Board ask them to broadcast to all of the hospitals within the Trust and changed the stations name to Bay Trust Radio.

The station has over the years invested in the most up to date broadcasting equipment to make sure that they can provide the best for the listener 24 hours per day.

Bay Trust Radio can be found on channel one on the Hospedia patient entertainment system at the Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. It is also available on-line. The radio station is now available on an iPhone application so that patients, staff and visitors can now enjoy the service after they leave hospital. The application is free of charge and can be found by typing ‘BTR’ into iTunes.