Wheelchairs, walkers, hearing aids and glasses: borrow it before you buy it

Who might pay for what: the quick table

Start here. Find the thing you need in the first column, then phone the number in the last column before you spend anything.

Borrow it first: the Red Cross loan program

This is the most under-known service in Victoria, and it is often the right answer.

The Canadian Red Cross runs a Health Equipment Loan Program. It lends walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, bath seats, toilet aids and similar equipment so people can recover at home or leave hospital sooner. There is a depot at 909 Fairfield Road in Victoria.

There are three levels:

• Short-term loans — walkers, wheelchairs, bath and toilet aids, crutches.
• HELP Plus — bigger items like hospital beds and patient lifts, with delivery and set-up, arranged with the health authority.
• Long-term loans — for Island Health home health clients who have no other way to get equipment.

You need a referral form signed by a health professional — a family doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or chiropractor. The form is on the Red Cross Victoria office page. Turning up without it is the single most common reason people get sent home empty-handed.

1. Ask a health professional to sign the Red Cross referral form. If you are in hospital, ask the ward or the discharge planner to do it before you leave.
2. Phone 250-382-2043 first to check the depot is open and the item is in stock.
3. Go to 909 Fairfield Road, Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The doors stay locked. Phone the number on the door and staff bring the equipment out to you.
4. Say out loud that you know how to use it safely. Staff will ask.
5. Return it when you are done, or ask for an extension form if you still need it.

For a hospital bed or a lift, the referral comes from the hospital or the Island Health home care team. Phone Island Health Community Access on 250-388-2273 or 1-888-533-2273, 8:30 am to 10:30 pm, seven days a week.

If you are on disability or income assistance

BC pays for medical equipment for people on disability assistance (PWD), income assistance, hardship assistance, and in many cases Medical Services Only. This is the route for equipment you will keep, not borrow.

The ministry funds these things and only these things:

• Canes, crutches and walkers
• Manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs and scooters
• Wheelchair seating systems
• Toileting and transfer aids — grab bars, commodes, transfer boards
• Hospital beds and pressure-relief mattresses
• Floor or ceiling lifts
• Non-conventional glucose meters, such as continuous monitors and talking meters

Hearing aids sit under a separate policy — see the next section.

What you need: a prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner, and usually an assessment by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist. The request goes in on form HR2138, the Medical Equipment Request and Justification form. The ministry pays for the least expensive item that meets the need, and may ask for quotes.

How often you can replace it: most items every 5 years. Wheelchair seating every 2 years. Canes, crutches and walkers as needed.

If you are refused, you can ask for a reconsideration. Our PWD guide explains that process, and TAPS in Victoria will help you fight it.

Hearing aids and hearing tests

Hearing aids are one of the biggest gaps in BC. Regular MSP does not cover them. MSP's supplementary benefits pay a little toward physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, naturopathy and podiatry — not hearing aids, and not glasses.

If you are on assistance, the ministry has a separate hearing instruments policy:

• Up to $2,000 per hearing aid, including a year's supply of batteries in the purchase price.
• A one-time replacement payment of $300 per aid.
• Replacement considered after 3 years, if replacing costs less than repairing.
• Repairs may be covered, as long as the damage was not from misuse.

The catch is who qualifies. The policy lists specific groups, including people who get general health supplements, hard-of-hearing parents of dependent children, children under 19 in Healthy Kids families, people who need aids for ministry-approved work or training, people registered with CNIB who are also hard of hearing, and some caregivers. It is not automatic for everyone on PWD. Phone the ministry and ask which group you fall into.

The assessment must be done by an audiologist or hearing instrument practitioner registered with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC. Your hearing provider contacts Pacific Blue Cross directly to start the eligibility check — not you, and not the ministry. Ask the clinic to confirm they have done it.

Other routes worth asking about. If your hearing loss came from your job, ask WorkSafeBC about it as part of your claim. If you served in the military or the RCMP, ask Veterans Affairs Canada. If you need hearing equipment to work, WorkBC Assistive Technology Services covers hearing and communication devices for employment — see below. We did not verify the current rules for those three routes on the date at the top of this page, so phone and ask rather than assuming.

Glasses and low vision

MSP pays for a routine eye exam if you are under 18 or 65 and over. In between, the exam is not covered unless you are on assistance.

If you are on disability or income assistance, the optical supplement covers:

• An eye exam once every two years — the ministry rate is $44.83 at an optometrist and $48.90 at an ophthalmologist
• Glasses up to the ministry's maximum rate
• New lenses when your prescription changes
• Repairs, and a case

Show your BC Services Card at the clinic and say you are on assistance. The clinic checks your coverage with Pacific Blue Cross. Ask before the appointment whether that clinic accepts the ministry rate — some charge more and bill you the difference.

CNIB runs free programs across BC for people who are blind or partially sighted, and for their families and caregivers: daily living skills, technology training, recreation, work and learning programs, and a mobile hub that brings programming into communities. Everything is free. Phone 1-800-563-2642 and ask what they run on Vancouver Island, and what low-vision equipment they can help you find. CNIB is mainly a service and training organisation, so ask them directly what they can and cannot supply rather than assuming they hand out devices.

When your wheelchair breaks

A broken chair is not an inconvenience. It is an emergency, and it should be treated like one. There is usually a repair path people are never told about.

1. Phone the supplier who sold or delivered the chair first. If the ministry funded it through a contracted supplier, there is 2 years of all-inclusive service built into it — parts, labour, adjustments, maintenance, tire repairs and battery replacement, at no cost to you. Many people pay out of pocket during those two years because nobody told them.
2. After the 2 years, phone the ministry on 1-866-866-0800. Repairs can still be covered if repairing costs less than replacing.
3. Ask for something to use meanwhile. The Red Cross lends manual wheelchairs by donation. Phone 250-382-2043 and say your chair is out of service.
4. If you use the chair to work, phone WorkBC Assistive Technology Services on 1-844-453-5506.
5. If the repair is not funded and you cannot pay, a charity may cover the gap — see the charities section below.

Equipment for work, school and home technology

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services

This program pays for the equipment you need to work. It covers assistive devices, ergonomic chairs and desks, lighting, hearing and communication devices for work, workplace changes, vehicle modifications for work, and sign language interpreting or captioning.

It is for people who are working, looking for work, self-employed, in training, or volunteering. You must be 16 or older, live in BC, be allowed to work here, and not be a full-time student — unless you are in your final year. How much is covered depends on your financial situation, and no dollar cap is published.

Phone 1-844-453-5506. The Victoria office is at 817A Fort Street. It is not for daily living equipment at home.

SET-BC, for students

SET-BC is a provincial outreach program funded by the Ministry of Education and Child Care. It has provided assistive technology to BC students with complex needs for more than three decades, both as full service and as equipment-only loans.

The request comes from the school team, not from you directly, so start with your child's teacher, the learning support teacher or the principal, and ask them to make a SET-BC referral. If the school says no or does not know what you mean, phone SET-BC on 604-261-9450 or email info@setbc.org and ask how a referral is made. The eligibility rules are not published in plain terms on their site, so ask.

Technology for Living

A BC organisation with two programs worth knowing:

• PROP, the Provincial Respiratory Outreach Program — education, equipment and therapy for people living with a neuromuscular disorder or chest wall restriction. Phone 1-866-326-1245.
• TIL, Technology for Independent Living — environmental control systems that let people with physical disabilities operate things in their home and out of it. Phone 604-326-0175.

They also run a peer support program. Their website does not publish eligibility rules or costs, so phone and ask.

Guide dogs and service dogs

BC certifies guide dog and service dog teams under the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act. Certification is what gives you the legal right to take your dog into places and tenancies that would otherwise say no.

• Certification is free.
• If your dog came from a school accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), your valid ID card already counts as certified in BC — no matter which province or country issued it. You do not have to apply, though you may if you want the BC certificate as well.
• If you trained the dog yourself, or the school is not ADI or IGDF accredited, the dog must pass a public safety assessment with Obedience Unleashed Dog Training. That test costs $200.
• Apply by email to guideandservicedogs@gov.bc.ca, or by mail to Security Programs Division, PO Box 9217 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria BC V8W 9J1.

If you are on income, hardship or disability assistance and your team is certified, BC pays a guide dog or service dog supplement of $95 a month. You need confirmation of certification to get it, and certification has to be renewed every 2 years to keep it. If your test with Obedience Unleashed is booked but not done, a letter confirming the booking is accepted.

We could not verify how long it takes to get a dog from a training school, or what those schools charge. Waits are commonly long. Ask the school directly before you plan around it.

Charities that fund equipment

Two BC charities clearly fund equipment for individuals. Both expect you to apply to government funding first, and both fill the gap that is left.

Variety — the Children's Charity of BC

• Who: children from birth to their 19th birthday, resident in BC with a valid Personal Health Number (or Yukon with a Health Care Card), with a medical or developmental special need confirmed by a health professional.
• What: mobility and communication devices, wheelchairs, walkers, specialised bicycles, prosthetics, hearing devices, and specially equipped vans.
• How: apply at variety.bc.ca. A new application and supporting documents are needed every year, including for renewals.
• The rule: apply to government funding first. Variety tops up what government or a private plan will not cover in full.

BC Rehab Society individual grants

• Who: adults with a physical disability — the list includes spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, ALS and Parkinson's, among others. Under 18, use the children's charities first.
• What: power and manual wheelchairs, seating systems, ramps, lifts, custom orthotics, driver rehabilitation lessons and recreation therapy. Published caps include $2,500 for a back-up wheelchair, $1,000 for a scooter and $1,000 for a lift chair.
• What you must send: an assessment from an occupational therapist or physiotherapist, two quotes — one new, one used, and household financial information including your notice of assessment. Incomplete applications are not reviewed.
• Deadlines: 15 February, 15 May, 15 September and 15 November. Phone 604-737-6383.

Buying used, and giving equipment back

Second-hand equipment is far cheaper, but be careful with it. A wheelchair that does not fit you causes pressure sores and falls. Take the measurements from your occupational therapist with you.

• The Red Cross runs on donated equipment. If you have a walker, wheelchair or bath seat you no longer need, phone 250-382-2043 and ask whether they can take it. Giving it back keeps the loan program stocked for the next person.
• Local classifieds such as UsedVictoria carry walkers, wheelchairs, lift chairs and scooters, often for a fraction of new. Go and look at the item, and take someone with you.
• Home medical suppliers sometimes sell used stock or take equipment on consignment. Phone and ask what used items they have before you look at new ones.
• If you are applying to BC Rehab, you need a used quote anyway — so shopping used is part of the paperwork, not a compromise.

Do not buy a used power wheelchair, hospital bed or lift without asking a therapist or a supplier to look at it first. Batteries, slings and hoists are the parts that fail.

Why people miss this

• They buy first. The ministry will not reimburse equipment bought without approval, and there is no way to undo it afterwards. This is the most expensive mistake on this page.
• Nobody told them borrowing was an option. People spend hundreds on a walker they need for six weeks, while the Red Cross would have lent one by donation.
• They arrive at the Red Cross without a signed referral and are sent away.
• They pay for repairs that are already covered during the first two years of ministry-funded equipment.
• They assume MSP covers hearing aids. It does not.
• They think an eye exam is free at any age. MSP covers it under 18 and 65 and over — in between only on assistance.
• They wait for a hospital discharge planner to arrange everything. Ask the ward directly, and phone Island Health Community Access yourself.
• They never mention work. WorkBC Assistive Technology Services will fund things no other program will, if the equipment is tied to a job, training or volunteering.

Where to get help in Victoria

• Island Health Community Access, South Island — home care, occupational therapy assessments, hospital beds and lifts. 250-388-2273 or 1-888-533-2273, 8:30 am to 10:30 pm, seven days a week.
• Victoria Hearing Clinic, 1947 Cook Street. 250-388-2250.
• WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, 817A Fort Street. 1-844-453-5506.
• Victoria Disability Resource Centre, 817A Fort Street — information and referral. 250-595-0044.
• Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS), 828 View Street — free advocacy if the ministry refuses your equipment request. 250-361-3521.
• Disability Alliance BC, Advocacy Access — 1-800-663-1278.
• CNIB — 1-800-563-2642.
• 211 — dial 211 any time for anything not listed here.

Or call the Reachable Line and we will phone through this list with you, at your pace.

Related guides

• Getting the PWD designation — the door to the equipment, hearing and optical supplements on this page.
• Housing and changes to your home — ramps, grab bars, bathroom changes and who pays for them.
• Getting around Victoria — handyDART, the bus pass and taxi savers once you have the equipment.
• Work and school with a disability — more on WorkBC Assistive Technology Services and student supports.
• Dental care and prescriptions — the other health supplements people are owed and never claim.
• All guides — the full library.

Where this comes from

Every amount, rule and phone number here comes from a page we read on the date shown. Rates change, usually each year, and programs close without notice. If you are reading this long after the date at the top, phone the number first and check.

• Canadian Red Cross, Victoria Office Short Term Loan Program: redcross.ca — Victoria loan program (read 1 September 2026)
• Canadian Red Cross, BC Health Equipment Loan Program: redcross.ca — BC HELP (read 1 September 2026)
• Island Health, Accessing our services (Community Access line hours and numbers): islandhealth.ca — accessing our services (read 1 September 2026)
• Island Health, Victoria Hearing Clinic: islandhealth.ca — Victoria Hearing Clinic (read 3 September 2026)
• BC Employment and Assistance policy, Medical Equipment and Devices: gov.bc.ca — medical equipment and devices (read 3 September 2026)
• BC Employment and Assistance policy, Medical Equipment — Hearing Instruments: gov.bc.ca — hearing instruments (read 3 September 2026)
• BC, Optical supplement and the health supplements rate table: gov.bc.ca — optical (read 1 September 2026)
• BC, General Supplements and Programs Rate Table, effective 1 August 2026 (guide dog and service dog supplement, $95 a month): gov.bc.ca — general supplements rate table (read 3 September 2026)
• BC Employment and Assistance policy, Guide Dog and Service Dog Supplement: gov.bc.ca — guide dog supplement (read 3 September 2026)
• BC, Guide Dog and Service Dog Team Certification (free certification, $200 public safety assessment, where to apply): gov.bc.ca — team certification (read 3 September 2026)
• BC, MSP supplementary benefits (what MSP does and does not cover): gov.bc.ca — supplementary benefits (read 3 September 2026)
• WorkBC, Assistive Technology Services: workbc.ca — assistive technology services (read 1 September 2026)
• SET-BC, About: setbc.org — about (read 3 September 2026)
• Technology for Living (PROP, TIL and peer programs): technologyforliving.org (read 3 September 2026)
• CNIB, Programs and services in British Columbia: cnib.ca — programs and services (read 3 September 2026)
• Variety — the Children's Charity of BC, Adaptive and mobility equipment grants and Child grant qualifications: variety.bc.ca — adaptive and mobility equipment (read 3 September 2026)
• BC Rehab Society, Individual grant: bcrehab.com — individual grant (read 3 September 2026)

Reachable is not a bank, a lawyer, or the government. This guide explains public programs in plain language so you can go and claim them. It is not medical advice, and it is not advice about your own situation.