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

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.

World Ocean Day

World ocean day is a day to raise awareness about ending overfishing and protecting our oceans. Several residents had a spectacular time at the Sea Life Hunstanton and strolled along the Hunstanton promenade. This incredible trip helped increase our understanding and knowledge about how we can help ocean life.

Joan said, "What a beautiful place full of vibrant colour and so much information. It's truly inspired me".

We're looking forward to putting what we've learnt into practice at Hickathrift House.

RAF Museum London

Across our services we had a lovely time joining Rhiannon Watkinson from the RAF Museum London for an interactive talk exploring the exciting and innovative aviation history of Hendon.

Our residents were able to learn about the first flights from the fields at Hendon, the creation of the London Aerodrome and Battle of Britain pilots who flew from RAF Hendon.

The talk also included photographic and film material from the Museum’s archive. Residents across our homes had a fantastic time and we truly enjoyed the virtual experience.

Bingo fundraiser

Hickathrift House Care Home staff in Marshland St James organised a community bingo night to raise money for outings, entertainment and special events.

The money raised is for the home's life-enrichment programme, it includes the ‘post a wish’ initiative where residents write down ‘wishes’ they’d like to have granted, from listening to a harpist for the afternoon to a trip to Hunstanton for the day.

The bingo night took place at Walsoken Village Hall and saw the entire community attend in the hundreds. Donations were provided by residents, their families and staff from Hickathrift House as well as several great local businesses. Local businesses that provided spectacular prizes, include Blended Monkey Craft, Sea Life Centre Hunstanton, Play 2 Day Wisbech, the Majestic Cinema King’s Lynn and Paragon Motor Company.

Pets at the Palaces

Residents across our services had a delightful time during a special virtual sensory storytelling event, led by Art Historian Jon Sleigh from the Historic Royal Palaces.

Jon took us on a journey to discover some of the more unusual and unexpected inhabitants of the palaces and the Tower of London, sharing fascinating stories about the pets at the palaces.

Whilst enjoying the virtual experience, our residents were treated to hot beverages, delicious biscuits, berries and cakes. It was a truly lovely time for all.