What types of care does Hickathrift House Care Home offer?

Hickathrift House Care Home offers Residential care, Dementia care, Respite / Short stay.

Activities at Hickathrift House Care Home

We have two Activities Coordinators here at Hickathrift House. We have a wide range of activities within the home, including musical entertainment, arts & crafts, clubs for like-minded people, such as flower arranging and gardening, board games, baking (where the best bit is the eating afterwards!), and we celebrate special events throughout the year. We also have trips out on a regular basis using our own minibus, where we find out places of interest each person would like to visit.

It is important to us that each individual who we support can get as much from these activities as possible, so we try our best to arrange activities that reflect their interests and capabilities, and encourage them to participate in any way they can. We also encourage relatives to join in with activities and events as often as they can.

For the less mobile residents, we unique one-to-one session, such as simple chats over a cup of tea, reading or listening to music. Activities are some of the most important aspects of a care home, so it is essential that our team are dedicated to ensuring that residents are entertained, and that life at Hickathrift House is fun and active.

Watch our video on life enrichment in our homes.

Kat Colangelo

Activities Lead

Hello, my name is Kat and I am the Activities Lead here at Hickathrift House.

Since 2017 I have been working in the field of well-being and I am passionate and enthusiastic about enriching all our of residents' quality of life.

As the Activities Lead at Hickathrift House, my focus is learning about each of our resident's likes and dislikes and supporting them to remain receptive and active in addition to supporting them to engage with our local community friends.

I organise activities to stimulate the mind, body and soul in an enjoyable, comfortable way. My aim is to diversify and increase activities ensuring that there is something for everyone - from Wine and Cheese events, excursions on our home Mini Bus as well as individual bespoke person-centered activities.

Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure

Activities and Events Partnerships

As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies

Life at Hickathrift House Care Home

Anniversary Celebrations

A couple from Walsoken enjoyed celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary on Friday 13th July.

Ernie & Pearl missed out on celebrating their actual anniversary on 23rd June due to Ernie being in hospital at the time ,and he wanted to make it up to Pearl. Ernie is staying at Hickathrift House for some respite care following his hospital stay, so he asked staff to help him put a plan in action.

Staff set up a private dining area in the home, where Pearl joined Ernie for a romantic meal, and he was waiting with a bunch of flowers and looking very dapper in his bow tie.

Ernie and Pearl married in 1945 and haven’t been apart from each other until recently due to Ernie’s ill health.

Fantastic News for Hickathrift

Not only has Paula Colman at Hickathrift been crowned ‘Memory Lane Champion’ for Barchester’s Central Division in the 2018 Barchester Care Awards, but we are also very proud to announce that General Manager, Ceri Mills, has also won the divisional title for ‘Apprentice/Learner of the Year’

The awards celebrate staff and volunteers who go the extra mile for the benefit of individuals living in Barchester care homes. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Maintenance Champion’ and ‘Team of the Year’.

More than 1,500 nominations were received from homes across the UK. All entries have been of a very high standard and Paula is thrilled to have been named top in the region.

Hickathrift Appoints New GM

Ceri Mills will now oversee the running of home and will be responsible for a team of 60. Ceri has over 12 years’ experience within the care industry and originally joined Hickathrift House in 2007, but left in 2009 to gain experience within a different setting, returning to us in 2011 and working her way up the chain of command to eventually become Deputy Manager in 2014, and finally General Manager this year.

During Ceri’s time here, she has gained her NVQ Level 2 and NVQ Level 3 in Health & Social Sare, and she is currently working towards her NVQ Level 5 in Leadership & Management.

Most of you already know Ceri, but she is really looking forward to seeing you all over the coming months and, as always, her door is always open.

Our next relative and residents' meeting will be on 7th September 2018 and, by then, Ceri will be able to update you on the projects she has planned between now and Christmas, with the help of her team.

Armed Forces Day

Hickathrift House had a fantastic day commemorating Armed Forces Day two days early on Thursday 28th June.

Armed Forces Day is a chance to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community. This year, Hickathrift House had a staff fancy dress day and an afternoon tea party for the residents. The activities team decorated the whole home in balloons and bunting.

Head of Maintenance, Jamie Hall, previously of the Royal Engineers and a current reservist solider, brought us lots of memorabilia for the residents, and loved chatting to them about his career.

Hickathrift win again!

Paula Colman at Hickathrift has been crowned ‘Memory Lane Champion’ for Barchester’s Central Division in the Barchester Care Awards 2018 and is through to the national finals.

More than 1,300 nominations were received from homes across the UK. All entries have been of a very high standard and Paula is thrilled to have been named top in the region.

Paula Colman said: ‘I and completely overwhelmed to receive this award - I am so lucky to be supported by a great manager, admin team and colleagues alike, and to receive their votes along with those of residents families and nurses I feel hugely honoured . I am very passionate about my role, with the resident’s well-being paramount in my mind - so thank you again for everyone who voted for me for this recognition’

As the winner for Central region, Paula is automatically through to the national Barchester Care Awards finals. She will soon have an interview with the judges and will then join finalists from across the UK at a special awards luncheon in October to celebrate their achievements and discover if they have won a national award.

Acting General Manager, Ceri Mills, said: “This is an amazing achievement. Paula is a dedicated and fully committed team member, as recognised by the volume of votes for her to gain this recognition. It is a great achievement for her to have been recognised as the Divisional Winner and we are all fully supporting her with the next stage of the company wide awards”

25 Years of Service

The Administrative Assistant at Hickathrift House has received a prestigious Long Service Award in recognition of working at Barchester Healthcare for 25 years.

Tracey Hills started at the home in June 1993 as a weekend Care Assistant and worked her way up to Deputy Manager in 2000. She then moved to the administration department after starting her family in 2003 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years.