Member Article

Fundraising success for Bridlington care home

A Bridlington care home has hosted a family fun day to raise money to provide innovative solutions for the symptoms of dementia.

Staff at Red House care home, run by not for profit organisation Hica Group, came together to host cake stalls, tombolas and raffles, raising £350 to go towards purchasing pop up reminiscence ‘pods’.

The Hica Group, which runs 20 care homes and two retirement villages, recently purchased two RemPods including a 1950s kitchen and a classic pub to provide new and effective ways to tackle the symptoms of dementia. The pods had such a positive impact on residents that the group now wants to add as many as possible to its collection.

The pop up areas, provided by company RemPods, support those with dementia by providing a relaxing environment, encouraging happy memories of familiar, comforting times. They are fully equipped with authentic furnishings and memorabilia, with some including retro music and nostalgic background sounds to add to the experience.

Red House manager, Leah Davies said: “We saw a vast improvement in our residents whilst the classic pub pod was at Red House. Their behaviours changed, especially residents with more advanced dementia. They were more calm and content and some residents who are very introverted and don’t take part in activities came to use the pod. I think settings like this bring back old comforting memories and they are able to relax.

“After seeing the fantastic impact RemPods have on residents, we wanted to do what we could to raise funds so Hica Group can buy more pods. The day was a great success and brought everyone together. The staff residents and their families all had a fantastic day.”

The original investment of a 1950s kitchen pod and a pop up classic pub was made possible after more than 60 staff completed a 10 mile sponsored walk which raised almost £4,000. Staff from the group are now hoping to replicate this success with further fundraisers across the homes.

Chief executive of Hica, Penni Brown said: “We are very proud of our staff for going the extra mile to fund the dementia pods. Their efforts and dedication perfectly reflect the Shine ethos which is promoted throughout Hica. The RemPods concept is fantastic and we have been lucky enough to view first-hand the amazing impact is has on people with dementia and memory loss.”

RemPods, which was originally given a £100,000 investment by Dragons Den entrepreneurs Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, provide care homes, charities, and over 150 NHS sites with pop-up reminiscence rooms including familiar home settings from the 1950s to the 1960s, vintage tea rooms, cinemas and dance halls.

The Hica Group is a not for profit organisation, which operates a portfolio of 20 residential care homes, five of which are for people with a learning disability, along with two retirement villages. The company also runs a home care service providing approximately 11,500 hours of support and care from four regional offices in the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Hica Group .