New website launched to help people age well in the Western Isles

NHS Western Isles is excited to launch a new website, designed to help older people across the Western Isles find activities, services, healthcare and support in their local communities. The new page has been launched today as part of International Day for Older Persons.

The new Ageing Well website has been developed following a year-long IMPACT Demonstrator Project, delivered in partnership with the Western Isles Integration Joint Board and NHS Western Isles. The project set out to understand what helps people age well in the Western Isles and identify what barriers might make it more difficult for people to access support and stay connected within their communities.

Ageing well is about staying connected to the people and places you know, maintaining independence, having choice and control over your own day, and being able to access support when you need it.

Throughout the project, discussions were held with various stakeholders, including community groups, people with lived experience, third sector organisations, and health and social care staff. A consistent message emerged that finding clear, accessible and up to date information about local support and opportunities could be challenging.

In response to these concerns, the Ageing Well website was created to bring together information on activities, groups and services for older people across Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra, in one place.

The website includes:

Activities and groups you can go to, searchable by island and by day.

Services and organisations that can help you, or the person you care for.

Short guides on staying well, each pointing to fuller advice elsewhere.

Accessibility was a key consideration from the start. The header carries three text-size controls, a high contrast toggle, a print option and a skip-to-main-content link. The site includes text size controls, a high-contrast viewing option, a print function, and a skip-to-main-content feature. A built-in text-to-speech tool also allows users to have content read aloud, with simple controls to pause and resume playback.

The site is run by NHS Western Isles and the Western Isles Integrated Joint Board. It was developed through the IMPACT programme, funded by UKRI ESRC and The Health Foundation.

The website can be accessed here: http://ageingwell.wihb.scot.nhs.uk/.