The Supported Needs and Disability Office, on behalf of the Ministry of Equality has collaborated with GHA Emergency Services and with the Lions Clubto reintroduce the Lion’s Club International “Message in a Bottle” and “Message in Your Wallet” schemes. 

A statement from the Supported Needs and Disability Office follows below:

The “Message in a Bottle” initiative was developed by Lions Club International in 1999 to ensure that emergency services were aware of medical conditions and medications a person takes when they attend an emergency at a place of residence. It is a white and green bottle in which the family can place an information sheet. The bottle would then be placed inside the family’s fridge, and emergency services would check inside the fridge for this information. 

“Message in Your Wallet” is a new initiative but its focus is for when persons are out in the community. This information sheet, outlining the person’s medical conditions and medications, should be placed inside the person’s wallet or atthe back oftheir Disability InformationCard,which is issued by the Supported Needs and Disability Office. 

These schemes help make vital medical information readily available in the event of an emergency. They can include: 

· Personal Details 

· Illnesses / Disabilities 

· Allergies 

· Repeat Medication 

· Doctor / Carer Details 

· Emergency Contacts 

The details provided by the scheme could be of real assistance in emergency situations, especially for those with supported needs or disabilities that have communication difficulties. 

If you would like a Message in a Bottle / Message in Your Wallet please contact:

The Supported Needs and Disability Office: 

200 42196 / 56003195 / [email protected] 

OR Lions Club: 200 43318 / [email protected] 

The Lions Club of Gibraltar state, “In an emergency, the Message in your Wallet or Bottle can help save your life. Lions Club is happy to support and collaborate with the Supported Needs and Disability Office on these.” 

GHA Emergency Services state, “In an emergency, seconds count. Having access to essential medical information such as allergies, medications and conditions, can make all the difference in how we treat someone. The “Message in a Bottle” and “Message in Your Wallet” initiatives are simple yet powerfultools that help us deliver safer,faster and more effective care. We are proud to support this collaboration with the Supported Needs and Disability Office and the Lions Club of Gibraltar, and we encourage the public to take part in this potentially life-saving initiative.” 

Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, The Hon Christian Santos GMD MP said; “Keeping people safe is of the utmost priority and this initiative does exactly that. I wish to thank the Lions Club of Gibraltar and the GHA Emergency Services for helping us relaunch this scheme. I am proud of the great work the SNDO has done on this, championing the rights of persons with supported needs or disabilities.”