We are on air 24/7 on TV channel 800 (the default channel at Chase Farm), TV channel 0 (North Mid) and radio channel 1 (Royal Free). We can also be heard via our website royalfreeradio.co.uk and on most listening devices and platforms. The service is provided entirely by volunteers.
The “Sundown Sessions” is a special programme broadcast every weekday afternoon from 4pm and is a trip down memory lane to help those patients with dementia and the ward staff manage the phenomenon known as ‘sundowning’.
Sundowning is the clinical term used to describe the changes in behaviour and confusion that occur in people with dementia or delirium typically in the late afternoon or early evening. Some people experience growing agitation or anxiety at this time and this is often more pronounced when they are in an unfamiliar environment such as a hospital.
Danielle Wilde, Dementia Lead at the Royal Free London and co-creator of the radio session, said: “Sundowning can be difficult to manage on busy ward areas, where there are multiple things going on at one time.
“I had an idea to record a series of radio programmes called the ‘Sundown Sessions’ that would be aired daily and could be used as a therapeutic and reminiscence show aimed at building engagement between staff and patients.”
We were delighted therefore when Danielle approached us at Royal Free Radio with the idea and worked with her to compile a series of one-hour episodes which are broadcast in rotation. The programmes were started as part of Dementia Action Week in 2018 and have continued ever since and we are gradually extending them to include more recent years.
Each programme covers a particular year from 1952 onwards and features the music, news headlines and events of that year.
We were proud that the Care Quality Commission, in their 2019 report, commented on the programmes under “Outstanding Practice” saying “The Dementia Lead produced an informative booklet to help staff understand the benefit of the [volunteer] radio programmes …. Ward staff matched this with the date of birth of their patients and used the show to help the patient relax and orientate themselves.”
For more information on the programme visit www.royalfree.nhs.uk and search on Sundown Sessions.
Our Request Shows…
…are broadcast every night Sunday-Fridays at 8pm. Requests and dedications for patients in Chase Farm, North Middlesex or the Royal Free hospital can be sent in via our website royalfreeradio.co.uk/requests or via 020 8363 6000 (normal network charges apply). If you’re not able to visit a friend or family member in hospital, sending in a request is a good way of letting them know you’re thinking of them!
