A Highland charity which helps combat social isolation for elderly members of the community is ramping up its efforts to provide support.
The Morning Call and Visiting Service covering Inverness, Inverness-shire and Ross-shire has suspended visits to clients.
However, it is ensuring its daily phone call service is maintained to ease social isolation in communities.
The charity, which established 30 years ago, has made in excess of 500,000 calls over that period and supports 43 clients each day, for whom some it will entail their only communication of the day.
Service co-ordinator Nadine Morrison said yesterday it is “business as usual”.
She said: “It absolutely is crucial that we carry on our service at this time.
“We do not know how long people are going to be at home for, it has been suggested to be as long as 12 weeks but in the event that that extends further it is just so important for older people in the community to know that we have this service and that we can help.
“It gives people that bit of reassurance that there is someone there that if they need, someone is going to phone them in the morning.”
The service relies on a group of 21 volunteers who speak each morning with clients each day by dialling from their own homes.
Volunteers will attempt to contact a client at least three times during the scheduled time of the call and if no response is received, one of two nominated emergency contacts will be contacted to check on the wellbeing of users.