Gozitan Woman With Disability Trapped In Her Own Home After Promised Ramp Never Appears
A woman who lives with a disability and recently underwent major surgery has been left unable to leave her home due to a lack of accessibility.
The woman, who lives in Gozo, reached out to Lovin Malta on condition of anonymity after her various attempts to have the pavement outside the block she lives in changed into a ramp failed.
She said that while she had been told that the request was approved, the ramp has not yet been installed, with the various entities she has spoken to pointing the finger at each other rather than addressing the problem.
“At the moment I am literally a prisoner in my own home,” she said, explaining that she needed to leave the house for physiotherapy once a week since the service could not be given at home.
She explained how she had contacted the Sannat local council in July 2020 and requested that the ramp be installed in front of her apartment block so that she could access the building without difficulty.
She had also pointed out to the council that she was due to undergo major surgery in May this year, which meant that she would not be able to enter and leave her house without a ramp.
The woman said the council had sought approval from the Gozo Ministry, which gave the green light for the works in January this year.
Despite this, she said that so far there has been little progress to speak of, and she now feels like she’s been going around in circles.
“The latest request was for plans which could have easily been obtained from the Planning Authority by the Council, who are saying that Transport Malta needs to issue an approval for the pavement to be changed into a ramp,” she said.
She said that her surgery went ahead as planned and she was discharged from the hospital a few days ago.
Yet, with the ramp still nowhere to be seen, she has been left feeling frustrated and helpless, trapped in her own home.
Lovin Malta has reached out to the Sannat local council for clarification.
What do you make of this woman’s situation?
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