Last October, my wife and I visited Malta on holiday, during which we spent three days in Gozo. On the last day, we travelled with friends to Comino but, unfortunately, while there, one of my friends slipped on a rock and broke his ankle.

Luckily,+ there were several lifeguards from the Emergency Response and Rescue Corps (ERRC) on duty who attended to my friend and later transported him back to our hotel. The next day, which was our last day in Malta, we were able to arrange for the ERRC to collect him from the hotel and take him directly to the airport.

I would like to say that, apart from the accident, we all had a wonderful time in Malta. The weather was beautiful, the accommodation and food excellent but, most of all, everyone we met were very friendly and helpful. This was the fifth holiday in Malta for my wife and me but, because of our recommendation, this was our friend’s first visit.

A short while after our return to the UK, I contacted the ERRC to thank them and find out more about the organisation. I learnt that they were a voluntary organisation and their ambulance had been donated by a firm in Sussex.

To my surprise, I also learned that they received only a small support from the Government and were desperate for funds to keep them going. Amazingly, they also did not have their own premises, having to park the ambulance outside a volunteer’s house and keep their valuable equipment in a flat.

The Government had apparently promised some land to them two years ago but this promise has, so far, not materialised.

Malta is a holiday island; people go there to enjoy themselves and expect to find, as in any EU country, a medical support system in the unlikely case of accident or illness. If organisations like the ERRC are struggling to survive because of the lack of support from the Government, what does that say about the seriousness of the Government to attract more visitors to the island?

I recently checked the current situation with the ERRC and was told it had not changed since my last inquiry in October, hence my letter today.