The Assist Practice · Free NHS primary care ↗

Healthcare focussed on people seeking Asylum

You've carried more than most people will ever have to; a home you had to leave, a journey that tested everything, and now a new country and a new system to navigate, often on your own. The Assist Practice exists for exactly this. We weren't added onto a regular GP surgery as an afterthought; we were built specifically to understand and respond to what people seeking asylum are going through.

We've cared for more than 10,000 people seeking asylum since 2015, so we've come to understand the toll it can take, on your body and on your mind; and we're equipped to help. Appointments here run more than double the length of a standard GP visit, with an interpreter beside you throughout, because your story deserves more than ten minutes to tell.

We exist to support people like you.

10 yrsSpecialist expertise supporting asylum seekers

10,000+People seeking asylum cared for since 2015

2×The length of a standard GP appointment

10 yrsNHS contract, renewed for how we care

Plan your journey here Visit the Assist Practice site ↗

What you get

A GP service built around people seeking asylum

Our team specialises in supporting people who have arrived in the UK through the asylum system; so the service is designed around what that actually needs.

Free of charge

Every appointment and service is free at the point of use for people seeking asylum, on production of proof of your asylum-seeking status (such as an ARC card or Home Office letter).

Longer appointments

More time with your GP, so there's space to properly explain what's going on and be understood.

Interpreters always available

Professional interpreters are on hand for every appointment; you never need to bring your own.

Networked into support

We work closely with local charities, legal advisers and housing services to support the whole person.

Our values

What guides how we work

Partnership

Working together to achieve more.

Working in partnership with people and organisations is one of Inclusion Healthcare's five core values.

Quality

Providing a safe, caring, responsive and excellent service.

Striving for quality is one of Inclusion Healthcare's five core values, providing a safe, caring, responsible and excellent service.

Efficiency

Being agile and flexible to support the best outcomes for those we serve.

Inclusion Healthcare places efficiency as one of its five core values, ensuring all resources and influence are maximised to improve outcomes for the people it serves.

Compassion

Putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, and feeling driven to help them.

Respect and compassion are core values of Inclusion Healthcare, with every person treated with kindness, consideration and empathy.

Respect

Accepting all people for who they are, and treating others as we'd want to be treated.

Respect and compassion are core values of Inclusion Healthcare, with every person treated with kindness, consideration and empathy.

“Everyone deserves good healthcare; especially when you've just arrived somewhere new, and everything else feels uncertain.” Inclusion Healthcare, Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland

Since 2015

A service shaped by real experience

The Assist Practice has provided specialist primary care to people seeking asylum in Leicester since 2015. Today the practice cares for 1,577 patients; most living in Home Office accommodation such as hotels or shared houses, with little or no income, and often unable to drive.

2015Caring for asylum seekers since

1,577Patients currently registered

FreeWith proof of your asylum-seeking status

Many of our patients are also managing the physical and mental effects of what happened before they left home, of a difficult journey to the UK, and of navigating the asylum system here. We've built the service around removing the practical barriers that get in the way of care; free at the point of use for people who can show proof of their asylum-seeking status, longer appointments, interpreters as standard, and support that goes further than the GP appointment itself.

Beyond the GP appointment

Practical support, not just prescriptions

Good health depends on more than medicine. Where we can, we try to remove the everyday barriers that stand in the way of it.

Stay-safe-in-the-sun packs

Sun protection for patients spending long days outdoors.

Emergency clothing bank

For patients who've arrived with little more than what they're wearing.

Toys on the Table

Christmas gifts for children in our patients' families.

Community fund

Lets us respond quickly when an unexpected need comes up.

A patient's journey

What free, specialist care can mean

Every patient's story is different. This one is offered as an illustration of the journey many go through; before, during and after arrival.

Patient photo; to be added with the patient's consent

Before arrival

Amara* lived for months in unsafe, overcrowded conditions after fleeing conflict, with little access to medical care. A health condition went unmanaged for years.

Arrival in Leicester

Placed in asylum accommodation, she didn't know how to register with a GP, whether she was entitled to, or how to explain her symptoms in English.

Today

A support worker referred her to the Assist Practice. With a longer appointment and an interpreter throughout, her GP finally understood her full history; and referred her on for the ongoing care she needed.

“Having a doctor who understood me, in my own language, was the first thing here that felt like being taken seriously.”

Amara*, Assist Practice patient

*This is a composite story written to illustrate the kind of journey patients go through; it does not describe a real, identifiable person. Please replace it with a real, consented patient testimonial before this goes live.

In their own words

How to register

You will need proof of asylum seeker status and Home Office reference numbers before we are able to register you.

Get in touch

Call us on 0116 221 2780, visit assistpractice.co.uk, ask a support worker to refer you, or visit us in person; whichever is easiest for you.

Tell us your language

Let us know which language you're most comfortable in. We'll arrange an interpreter for every step, including this first call.

Register with the practice

We'll take a few basic details and will require details given to you by the Home Office Immigration Service.

Book your first appointment

A longer welcome appointment of 30 minutes with a clinician, supported by an interpreter if you need one.

Speak to the team

Reach us by phone, in person, or ask a support worker or charity to refer you on your behalf.

Call us

0116 221 2780
Interpreters can join by phone; just ask, in any language.

Visit us

Charles Berry House, 45 East Bond Street, Leicester, LE1 4SX
Plan your journey by public transport ↗

Official site

The Assist Practice's official NHS-registered website has appointment booking, registration and further advice.
assistpractice.co.uk ↗

Getting here by bus

Charles Berry House is a short walk from Haymarket Bus Station; Leicester's main bus hub, served by dozens of routes into the city centre, including the 5, 6, 14, 18, 26, 29, 47 and X3, among many others.

Which bus is right for you depends on where you're travelling from, so the most reliable way to find your route and live times is the journey planner below; just enter your starting point.

Plan your journey by public transport