Local information
Featured Local Information
Ageing Well Activities
The following PDFs include information on ageing well activities in East Lothian.
Movement to help your muscles and joints
If you have any muscle, or joint issues as an adult you can find exercises to help you on the NHS Inform website here.
If these exercises do not help you please call 01620 642968 to speak to a physio about your muscle or joint issue.
Housing Options
This pdf file includes a guide to housing options for older people in Scotland. The guide includes useful information on buying a home, selling your home, renting a home and much more.
Local Suppliers
View a list of local equipment suppliers. The PDF includes the company name, address, contact details, and website (if available).
Dementia Friendly East Lothian
East Lothian’s Dementia Friendly Communities are wholly community-led and run.
Dementia Friendly East Lothian provides whatever support and encouragement communities need to help them realise their aspirations in whatever way we can.
Please log onto the website for information or to share information on your own dementia friendly events.
Dementia Friendly East Lothian website
Telecare
You can get help from the East Lothian Community Alarm Telecare Service.
Telecare Self-Check Online Tool
Telecare is the use of discreet equipment that can help tell someone if there is an emergency or if you are having difficulties in your home. Try the Telecare Self-Check Online Tool to find advice and guidance related to your needs.
Telecare Self-Check Online Tool
Home-visiting Opticians
The following PDF contains details on home-visiting opticians in East Lothian and the surrounding areas.
Wellbeing when off work
This leaflet is for anyone off work for reasons related to common mental health problems.
Information and services
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Talking book service
East Lothian Libraries offer free downloads of popular fiction and non-fiction eAudiobooks for you to enjoy at home or on the go. They have collections for both adults and children.
For more information, please use the details below.
Contact information
Website: East Lothian Council
Phone: 01620 820600
Talking newspaper service
East Lothian Messenger is a local talking newspaper for the blind and visually impaired which is based on two local weekly newspapers: the East Lothian Courier and East Lothian News (as well as its quarterly magazine, East Lothian Life).
It is a free service supported by East Lothian Council.
To find out more, please get in touch using the details below.
Contact information
Website: East Lothian Messenger
Phone: 01368 830363
The Herbert Protocol
The Herbert Protocol is a form which family members or carers complete for a person living with dementia or at risk of going missing.
Families of a person with the condition are asked to download the Herbert Protocol form and provide information such as places of importance to them, often visited places, health issues and places they have been found in the past if reported missing.
The protocol can be printed out and stored in a safe, easily accessible place in the person’s home or kept by a family member electronically.
It enables police officers to quickly obtain vital information about vulnerable people who have been reported missing.
The form is available to download from Police Scotland’s website: https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/missing-persons/the-herbert-protocol/
For further information, please watch the video in the following link: https://vimeo.com/user101520179/download/654102285/73eb8214a8
Transport for visually impaired people
The Thistle Assistance Card is a card you can show the bus driver which tells them if you have mobility, visual or hearing impairments. To find out where you can get one of these cards, please contact SEStran using the details below.
Contact information
Website: SEStran
Email: thistlecard@sestrain.gov.uk
Phone: 0131 524 5150
East Lothian Council's Taxicard Scheme provides subsidised taxi travel for people with severe and permanent physical disability who don't have regular access to private motorised transport. If you'd like to apply for a Taxicard, application forms listing all those eligible for the scheme are available from Transport Services.
To get in touch, please use the following information.
Contact information
Email: transportation@eastlothian.gov.uk
Phone: 01620 827660
Opening Hours: Mon to Thurs, 9:00am to 5pm and Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm
Dial-a-ride is a service which provides a door-to-door transport service for people with limited mobility who are unable to use ordinary buses. This service operates seven days a week including evenings, subject to availability.
To find out more and register for the service, please get in touch using the following details.
Contact information
Website: HCL Transport
Phone: 0131 447 9949
Dial-a-bus provides transport from home to local shopping centres for people who cannot manage by ordinary bus. The service usually operates once a week from your door to a shopping location, giving you 1 to 2hrs shopping time. You need to register and book in advance for this service.
If you'd like to find out more, please use the information below.
Contact information
Website: HCL Transport
Phone: 0131 447 1718
Try before you buy - Telephones
The Disability Living Centre based at the Astley Ainslie Hospital is an equipment advice service which has an extensive range of catalogues, leaflets and information relating to both equipment and national and local community services.
They can:
- advise you about specific equipment and services
- send out brochures or information which may be useful to you
- help you find products
- provide information and suppliers.
There is also a limited range of equipment available for demonstration purposes.
For more information, please call 0131 537 9190. Please be aware you need to book an appointment with an occupational therapist or advisory worker.
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