As pressures on NHS services are felt, new services are being offered to users of the MacKenzie Centre as referrals to the Inverness facility continue to rise.
The centre, which was the first to provide day care to the elderly in Inverness back in 1984, provides services designed to ensure support is received in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping people out of hospital.
NHS Highland’s service improvement lead Jackie Hodges said: “We want our service users to look forward to coming here and to go home happy at the end of the day.
“Our aim is to support as many people as we can to remain within their own communities at home, and to do this we have had to change our approach. This is an ongoing process and we work closely alongside partner organisations such as Connecting Carers.
“This has the potential to have an enormous impact on wider services in primary care, care homes and hospitals. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to easing the pressure on health and social care services, but rather an approach that truly puts people at its heart.”
The centre now runs a whole array of different workshops and groups for its patients, including beauty therapy, cookery workshops and art groups.
Ms Hodges added: “These groups, whilst enjoyable, also work with peoples’ skill sets and are designed to increase confidence and reconnect with interests and the community. One of our staff has recently completed trishaw cycling training and takes people out around the town each week.
“This has been tremendously popular and has a positive effect on wellbeing. Music, exercise and fresh air underpin much of what we do and we are seeing the benefits of this for the people we support.”