Quality service charter for Gozo emergency unit

A patient requiring urgent treatment at the emergency department of the Gozo General Hospital ought to be seen by the department's doctor immediately and non-urgent cases should wait no longer than an hour.

The quality service charter for the department, just presented to Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, stipulates that non-urgent cases should wait a maximum of half an hour after being assessed by a nurse.

The department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The charter is the 46th since the government initiative to set up charters was taken less than six years ago. It is the 12th charter in Gozo.

The department also serves as a health centre between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The ambulance section offers an emergency service, transport from and to other state hospitals in Malta and Gozo, transport of patients to and from home under certain conditions, transport of patients who were resident at the hospital to social activities and transport of patients from home to private hospitals in Malta and Gozo, the Gozo heliport and Malta International Airport - conditions apply.

An ambulance would be sent to the site of an accident within four minutes, the charter stipulates.

More than 12,000 people use the department's services each year.