A Malta Rescue Corps project has been inaugurated to strengthen the transport and assistance services the organisation offers to people with disabilities, people with limited mobility and people in vulnerable situations. The project was funded through the Quality of Life Small Grants Scheme 2026.
The new equipment includes ambulance stretchers, patient transport chairs, portable wheelchair ramps and equipment to help volunteers move patients safely. The corps also purchased a vital signs monitor and an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Volunteers will use the equipment at community activities, in emergencies and during patient transfers, including transfers for people nearing the end of life. The equipment will help volunteers lift and move patients more safely and with less physical effort.
The Quality of Life Small Grants Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry for Inclusion and Volunteering. It supports voluntary organisations working to make community spaces and activities more accessible, expand opportunities for people with disabilities to take part, and provide services and support to people in vulnerable situations.
Inclusion and Volunteering Minister Julia Farrugia said investing in voluntary organisations helps them respond to needs they encounter in the community.
“When a person who uses a wheelchair is able to go to an activity in the community, or when a patient can be transferred with greater safety and dignity, that is where we see what this investment means in people's lives. As a Government we want to give volunteers the tools they need to be able to provide this assistance and do their work with greater safety,” said Minister Julia Farrugia.
Ettienne Micallef of the Malta Rescue Corps said volunteers were already using the equipment in their daily work. He said the investment would help the corps improve its services and respond more efficiently to people who need assistance in Malta and Gozo.
Photo credit — MIV
