A warm welcome to our home
Located on the outskirts of the historic medieval market town of Malmesbury, Athelstan House is a purpose-built home surrounded by a large landscaped garden. Athelstan House offers compassionate, individualised residential, nursing, dementia, respite, intermediate and day care for up to 80 residents in a modern, comfortable environment.
- Dementia Care
- Nursing Care
- Residential Care
- Respite Care
- Day Care
The home is conveniently situated next to The Malmesbury Primary Care Centre part of the Priory Way complex, with its extensive GP services and Boots pharmacy.
The purpose-built home environment has been specifically designed to support the needs of older people including those with dementia, from aiding memory in day-to-day living and reminiscence therapy, to reinforcing personal identity and navigating around the home.
The light and spacious reception area which greets you as you enter Athelstan House reflects the comfortable and homely living environment throughout the home.
This delightful home features small households with 20 bedrooms. All rooms also have en-suite facilities, remote controlled colour television and a state-of-the-art nurse call system- a personal haven for each resident.
Every household has its own comfortable beautifully furnished lounge and kitchen dining area, with easy access to assisted bathrooms and cosy sitting rooms.
Residents can enjoy the daily social activities going on in the central communal areas with the hairdressing salon open during the week. The cinema/entertainment room is used partly for activities but also for individual and personal use.
Services & Facilities
The team
Food
Activities
Events
Pricing and Key Facts
About the team
Our friendly, professionally trained team are on hand around the clock to support our residents, ensuring they spend their day how they wish and enabling them to enjoy a fulfilling and independent lifestyle.
The attentive care team focus on the individual needs of the residents, with a tailored care plan for each person. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for our residents by creating lovely, comfortable, homely surroundings and by providing care, activities and other services designed around each resident’s needs and wishes.
Meet the team
Food
The talented chef and kitchen team prepare tasty, home-cooked meals on site daily from our own kitchens. We source quality produce for our excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. All-day dining is available for lighter meals and snacks and all dishes are carefully balanced to get the best nutritional value and cater for individual dietary requirements and preferences.
Seasonal produce is chosen whenever possible and of course, relatives and friends are always welcome to join us. The menus change daily, and the kettle is always on. Our chef bakes every day so there is always a fresh cake to enjoy.
Each of the households has their own small kitchen dining room where residents can take their meals if they wish. Residents are also encouraged to help prepare their own food and to make snacks whenever they choose.
Activities
Whether it’s wet or dry outside, we at OSJCT feel that activities are essential in providing the best caring environment to live in.
Hobbies don’t simply stop when living with us at Athelstan House. We have a dedicated Activities Co-ordinator who works closely with our residents to create a programme of fulfilling activities and events, tailored around each resident’s requests, hobbies and interests. The programme of events and activities provide a source of fun and laughter, to help each resident live their life to the full and make new friendships.
We are also fortunate to have the support of many volunteers of all ages from the local community, strengthening our links to this thriving market town. Here is a sample of activities on offer:
- Trips to garden centres, cafés, pubs, sporting events, National Trust parks, wildlife parks, aquariums and museums.
- Visit from Pets as Therapy Dogs
- Exercise and wellness activities, for example Seated Yoga, Zumba
- Fun activities with ‘Messy Miniatures’, the local toddler group
- Board game competitions and quizzes
- Music therapy sessions
- Gardening
- Arts and crafts
- Communal Church services
Download sample activities schedule
With so many well-being activities for body and mind on offer, we also recognise that everyone needs some personal space for relaxation and mindfulness for personal reflection. The cosy lounges offer an opportunity for some quiet time or to host family and friends.
And that’s not all:
We’ve had silent discos, hoe downs, Chinese banquets, Oscar parties and so much more.
Many of the activities feature Reminiscence Therapy to aid those living with Dementia to remember events, people and places using sight, touch, taste, smell and sound.
Events
As we are on the outskirts of a market town - within a vibrant community, there's never a dull moment. We run regular activities for all to join in:
- Coffee mornings
- Care Home Open Day
- Summer and Autumn fetes
- Christmas parties
View our full events calendar to see more upcoming events taking place at Athelstan House.
Pricing
Care fees vary depending on the level of care required and this will be confirmed upon completion of a care assessment prior to moving into the home.
Below is indicative pricing for self-funded residents per week.
| Care Type | Fees From | Fees To |
|---|---|---|
| Dementia long term | £1520 | £1660 |
| Dementia respite | £1675 | £1830 |
| Nursing long term | £1760 | £1760 |
| Nursing respite | £1935 | £1935 |
| Residential long term | £1410 | £1520 |
| Residential respite | £1555 | £1670 |
Our home charges self-funder rates for the services we provide. We accept third party top ups for individuals funded by the Local Authority up to the self-funder rate.
We understand that paying for long-term care can often be a complex subject, and with several options available to you it can be confusing. You will find helpful guidance on our Paying For Care page.
Key Facts
The Key Facts document contains information regarding this care home which can be used in comparison with other care homes or can be printed for reference and brought with you when you visit the home.
Meet the team
Our homes' professional services are provided by the Management team, Carers, Nurses and Dementia support teams (where required), Admiral Nurses, Support Workers, Activities Co-ordinators, Housekeeping, Handy Person, Administrators and the home's Chef and Catering team. We also have health professional support from Doctors, Nurses and personal services who will regularly come into the home.
Dean Palfrey
Lucy Ponting
Louise Jebb
Pippa Lewis
Gail Corby
Rafal Stasiak
Donna Edwards
Volunteer Team
Home Manager
Dean started his career with The Orders of St John Care Trust in 2012.
Whilst working for the Trust, Dean has undertaken a variety of roles starting as a Kitchen Assistant before progressing through to a Carer, Care Leader, Head of Care and now a Home Manager.
Dean became Home Manager at Athelstan House in early 2022 and prior to that was Home Manager at Ridgeway House in Royal Wootton Bassett.
Before that, Dean worked at The Cedars in Purton as the Head of Care. Whilst there, he worked with the team to improve care standards and lead the team into achieving a 'Good' rating with the Care Quality Commission.
During his time with the Trust, Dean has worked at several of the Trust homes supporting and indeed achieving an 'Outstanding' CQC rating at one of these homes in February 2017.
In November 2019, Dean was awarded a Chairman’s Commendation Award for meritorious service.
He has completed a QCF Level 5 in Leadership and Management, including Level 2 & 3 in Health and Social Care, complemented by the Level 3 QCF Dementia Award.
Dean is continually looking to enhance his knowledge and skills which he can then pass onto his team.
His ethos and vision is to ensure that residents living at Athelstan House experience a positive environment, with a team who are happy to develop opportunities and good relationships with the local community.
Deputy Home Manager
Lucy has worked in the care sector from the age of 18, starting her career as a Care Assistant. From this position, Lucy developed a real passion for the care of the elderly, gaining specific qualifications and experience in residential, nursing and dementia care.
Lucy has worked for OSJCT for 14years, progressing into a Care Leader role and now is the Head of Care for Athelstan House, taking a hands-on approach and being motivated by the happiness of the residents and the team.
Lucy strives to ensure each resident is able to live their life as they choose, having the support and care that they require. Within her role as Head of Care, Lucy supports and supervises the team to continually promote a person-centred approach.
When not working, Lucy enjoys practising her photography, baking celebration cakes and spending time with her young nieces.
Deputy Manager
Louise previously enjoyed a career in retail before moving into care.
She was the manager at H J Knee department store in Malmesbury before moving briefly to Gloucester and then returning to Malmesbury to begin her career in care.
She started out at another care home and after just one year became Shift Leader where she stayed another 18 months before moving to Athelstan House as Care Leader.
It was early in 2022 that she became Deputy Manager and aside from her care responsibilities in the residential households, Louise also enjoys managing the Athelstan House activities team.
Louise enjoys finding solutions to any challenges and she loves helping residents and their families.
Outside of work, Louise has four children and in her spare time, enjoys outdoor activities and day trips with the family.
Head Nurse
Pippa joined us in January 2021 and was drawn to OSJCT being a non-profit organisation having worked for private companies where she felt her values did not fit with their ethos.
She is passionate about providing quality palliative care and enjoys the challenges of wound care and pressure area prevention. She enjoys building relationships with residents, their families/friends and work colleagues to provide quality resident focussed care.
Her previous nursing experience was gained in Vancouver, Canada where she lived for 18 years and has brought with her important, extensive and valuable experience.
Family life is very important; she loves spending time outside walking, hiking and mountain biking when time and weather permit.
Activities Co-ordinator
Before starting at Athelstan House, Gail worked with children who had special needs but when the care home opened, she decided on a career change to expand her experience in a different area of care.
She enjoys running activities that make the residents happy and helping to make them smile. There are simply not enough hours in the day!
Chef
Rafa joined Athelstan House in late summer 2019 and has brought with him a wealth of experience from working in the catering industry.
He trained for four years at catering school in Poland and following this, he became Chef to the Major General of the Polish Army in Warsaw, planning and preparing parties and banquets for the General’s guests.
In 2007 he moved to the UK to work for the Compass Group as a chef at RAF Cranwell where he was responsible for all meals prepared in the kitchen, cooking for 100-300 customers. He managed menu planning, stock control and general supervision of the kitchen team.
More recently, he was Chef for Richmond Villages retirement communities.
In his spare time, Rafa enjoys playing tennis, gardening, music and of course cooking!
Care Leader
Donna’s career in care started 20 years ago, beginning as a Care Assistant and then progressing to a Care Leader when she began working for OSJCT Athelstan House in 2019. Donna has gained NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care in 2006 and Level 3 in 2015. Donna is extremely passionate about her own professional development and sharing what she has learnt with others to ensure high standards of care to all our residents. Donna is currently undertaking a Level 4 Apprenticeship. In her role as Care Leader, Donna works in partnership with our residents, families, colleagues and healthcare professionals to ensure the residents are our main focus and that their diverse and complex needs are met daily.
Volunteer
Left to right; Lynn, Louisa, Karen, Caroline, Gail (Activities Co-ordinator), Jean and Issy.
Our volunteers play an essential role in supporting our residents and team on a regular basis
