Wheelchair hire – Gozo, Malta

If you need to hire a wheelchair in Gozo, it may be worth trying Gozo General Hospital. They may be in a position to lend you one. The procedure is fairly straightforward.

Here is my experience:

After my accident, I was still unable to walk after a couple of weeks, so I hit on the idea of asking the hospital if they could possibly lend me a wheelchair. I thought it was a bit of a long shot but worth a try.

Dave phoned and they said to get in touch with their General Stores Department. There was a little bit of paperwork to be done to certify that I did indeed need the chair (no problem), and voilà, they gave us a chair.

I fully expected to pay a substantial deposit to ensure we wouldn’t nick the thing, but they only asked for €40-odd deposit – amazing! They apologised because the chair was old, but it seemed to be perfectly servicable. Once again, I’m hugely impressed with Gozo General.

Dave outlined the procedure thus:

It all happened very smoothly.

Step 1 – I phoned yesterday to ask whether it might be possible to borrow a wheelchair. The operator advised me to phone today after 0730 and ask for General Stores.

Step 2 – I phoned today at 0805 and asked for General Stores (GS). The nice lady who answered told me that they had one, not very new, but took my name and set it aside.

Step 3 – I went to GGH Admin. They told me I’d need a letterhead note from Emergency to confirm that Kay needed a wheelchair, and would also need to pay a deposit of €46.59 (Lm20).

Step 4 – I went to Emergency and asked for a letterhead note, giving Kay’s name and the date she was treated there. The receptionist made a phone call and discovered that GS had already set aside a wheelchair for me. He told me to go down, have a look at the wheelchair to confirm that it would be suitable, and then let him know whether we wanted it.

Step 5 – Went down to GS, saw the wheelchair – old but serviceable – and returned to Emergency to say it was OK. 25 minutes later they gave me the magic letterhead note.

Step 6 – Went to Admin, showed them the note, paid the deposit and retrieved the wheelchair from GS.

All plain sailing. The guys in Emergency and GS were particularly friendly and helpful.

If you know of any other places in Malta where you can borrow or hire any mobility aids, then please let us know! You can comment below or use our “contact us” form.