A DAY service tailored to the individual needs of people with disabilities will be officially opened in new premises in Musselburgh on Wednesday.

Visualise Scotland, a small charity, has expanded its existing service at Newhailes Business Park into a larger unit in the same building.

Musselburgh councillor Andy Forrest, Depute Provost of East Lothian, will cut the ribbon to officially declare the new facility open, along with a young person who uses the service.

Visualise Scotland said it provided “high-quality care” through a range of services tailored to the individual needs of people with disabilities in Edinburgh and East Lothian.

The day centre in Musselburgh was opened at Newhailes Business Park in 2014, expanding its services into East Lothian for the first time, and 10 years later has moved into unit 9.

Claire Johnston, senior service manager with Visualise Scotland, said: “The expansion of the day service means we are able to offer more space to people who need a day service.

“When we were upstairs, we only had capacity for 10 people to support and 10 support staff.

“Moving forward to a bigger space lets us offer and provide more services, including four separate rooms, two of which are sensory rooms, one an IT room and a music room, as well as a large kitchen space and two large areas where group activities take place.

“Since moving, we have four new people joining our day service from school, so at the moment, we have nine people who are supported in day service.”

She added: “We moved into unit 9 in January and, now that we are settling, we have decided to make an official opening day.

“We will be joined by some local schools and some parents of children who are still in school but looking to transition into day service, as well as other care providers.”

She added: “The day service has no age restrictions.

“Just now, our youngest is 18 and the oldest is 30.

“We accept referrals from all over Edinburgh and East Lothian, and other parts of Lothian as well.”

The day service supports people with autism, school leavers transitioning into adult service, people with physical health needs such as epilepsy or similar health conditions that need some support or prompts with managing health and medication, people with learning disabilities and those with physical disabilities (the unit is also suitable for people who require the use of a wheelchair) and people who are blind or have vision impairment.

Visualise Scotland said: “There is a team of support workers on site six hours a day, Monday to Friday, between 9am and 3pm. This may change to include weekends and evenings over time.

“Our support workers deliver individual support based on each person’s assessed hours and care plan outcomes. We offer one-to-one support as well as group activities.

“Each staff member completes a robust training programme based around the needs of the individuals we support.

“The emphasis of our support is to enable each person to be as independent as possible and to encourage them to participate in daily activities and, should they wish, relax in our newly fitted sensory room.

“The team can provide support with the following: practical everyday life tasks such as cooking and cleaning; community support, for example, going to do a daily shop, attending an activity with support or help with getting to know the local area and accessing transport links; self-care – helping with personal care regimes and routines to maintain good personal hygiene; attending medical appointments or taking medication; emotional support – help to deal with problems and find solutions; enabling choice and positive risk taking.”

For more information, email office@visualise.org.uk or phone 0131 475 2310.