'I've been the voice of Edinburgh's hospital radio for six decades - and I'm not stopping yet'

Every night between 20:00 to 22:00 airwaves across hospitals in Edinburgh come alive with patient song requests during a show hosted by volunteers.

Hospital can be a daunting time but the Red Dot Radio team based at the Western General in the capital, do their best to put smiles on faces seven days a week.

One man has been at the heart of the station over the last six decades and has no plans to give up his role anytime soon.

Malcolm Kirby, now 75, was studying electrical engineering at Heriot-Watt University in the late 60s when he first got involved with hospital radio.

And more than half a century later he has been honoured with an MBE for his work.

He told BBC Scotland News: "I joined the student television society and met a friend who was station manager back then at Red Dot Radio and the rest is history.

"Back then we were based on Hanover Street but there have been a lot of changes over the years.

"We moved to the old Royal Infirmary next to the clock tower, then we moved to a portable cabin at the Royal Victoria Hospital and when they closed that they found a space for us at the Western General Hospital.

"Now I mostly do the technical stuff like building up the current studios we use but I still find time to go round the wards and host a show every week."

The patients are at the heart of hospital radio and it's the interaction with them that has kept Malcolm coming back all these years.

In the studio there is a wall of greeting cards filled with heartfelt messages from families about the impact the service made during the last moments of their relatives' lives.

One message that we have permission to share reads: "My mum spent a lot of time in hospital fighting cancer and you guys really kept her going.

"Music was a huge thing for her and she passed away peacefully last night listening to your show with us by her side."

Show day starts with a visit to collect song requests from patients across the hospital.

Malcolm said: "The main purpose of visiting the wards is to let patients know the service exists and how they can tune in.

"In the Western we are very lucky that the bedside radios still work very well but in newer wards we appear on the television as a channel.

"But if neither works, people can also listen through our website online."

The team put together a two-hour show every night along with a quiz that listeners can take part in live on air and the winner even gets shortbread as a prize.

"We play anything on the request show - as long as there is no swearing.

"There is always a huge mix - tonight for example we have everything from Fats Domino, to Bill Withers, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, the Stone Roses, Eagles and some Bjork as well," he explained.

When asked what would surprise people most about hospital radio, Malcolm chuckles and says with a grin: "That we still exist."

He explained: "I have been doing this for a long time.

"When smart devices came around about 15 years ago I thought maybe our time is up, people might prefer to listen to their own things.

"But honestly, now we have as big an audience as we ever have. The response we get from patients is that it is something to look forward to that cheers up their evening.

"We get groups together which is special, tonight we had five ladies listening together who all chose a song and played along with the quiz.

"It makes hospitals less lonely and brings people together."

On Tuesday the hospital radio chairman was awarded his MBE for his work in the charity over the years during a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

He said: "It came as a total surprise to me - It's a real privilege being involved in a service that's entertained hospital patients for 60 years.

"I don't plan to give up anytime soon. I want this celebration to be about the relevance of hospital radio today.

"A lot of people think it has had its day and is done but it's just not true. We see first hand the difference it makes to patients.

"Hospital radios across the UK need the infrastructure to keep this going."