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

History of Wall's icecream

Residents across our homes had a fantastic time during a special live virtual event in celebration on National Ice Cream Day. Wall’s team took us on a great journey through history, sharing fascinating details about the brand since its launch in 1922. We learned about major innovations such as the introduction of Mr Whippy, Cornetto, Viennetta, Twister, and Carte d'Or.

Residents were treated to a singalong to Cornetto classic ads, an interactive quiz about fun Wall’s facts and best-of-all, an ice-cream tasting session. It was a delightful experience for everyone, especially our ice-cream lovers.

Gentlemen’s Club

Hickathrift House in Marshland St James has opened its doors to the gentlemen of the community for an afternoon of crosswords, dominoes and discussions, on the second Sunday of every month. Taking place between 2:30pm - 4pm guests will be able to enjoy cream cakes prepared by the home’s Head Chef and will meet the team and gentlemen of the home over a refreshing drink.

The first Gentlemen’s Club of Hickathrift House started on the 9th of July. Residents and locals spent the time learning about the history of Gentlemen’s Clubs, enjoyed an array of quizzes and discussed various sports results while enjoying a game of dominoes.

Dogs Trust

Across of homes residents had a fantastic time during a special live virtual event, led by Jennifer and Emily from Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity. Jennifer and Emily took us on a journey to discover the rich history of Dogs Trust and their facilities.

Using captivating video and photo footage, our residents were able to explore rehoming centres and learn more about the highest level of welfare offered there. It was a delightful experience for everyone, especially our dog lovers.

Home celebrates 30-years service

An Administrator at Hickathrift House in Marshland St James has received a prestigious 30-Year Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare.

Tracey Hills started at Barchester in June 1993 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years. Tracey joined Hickathrift House at the age of 15 and started as a care assistant. Within the space of 6 years, Tracey quickly rose to senior carer and then Deputy Manager by 1999. For the past 16 years, Tracey has worked in the administration team with her colleague Kanita.

Happy Fathers Day

It was our genuine pleasure to celebrate all the wonderful men at Hickathrift House on Sunday. We organised several lovely video calls in the morning and evening for those further away. At lunchtime, families joined their fathers for a scrumptious Sunday Roast made by our talented Hospitality Team. In the afternoon we were joined by the fantastic KJ & The Catt who helped made our male residents feel extra special today.
Barrie said, "It's been such a great day with my daughters and wife. The whole team has made it so special".
A huge thank you to the entire team for making today incredible and to the fabulous family members for getting involved in our celebration.

Unique Animal Therapy

Residents received a very special visit from two beautiful horses, Percy, the Suffolk Punch and Major, the Shire horse. Both were from the lovely Weydike Heavy Horses. Residents thoroughly enjoyed learning about these stunning animals, feeding and stroking them. It sparked exciting memories and conversations throughout the day.

Richard said, "Oh they remind me of my lovely racing horse. He was grey, blue in colour and was a winner".

All our animal visits aim to evoke emotional connections from the residents along with love, joy and laughter. The visits also provide physical, mental and emotional healing.