Asra House Residential Care Home in Leicester

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, Asra House is a truly unique home for residents with an Asian lifestyle.

In its recent CQC report, one of the home’s residents said simply: “This is the best care home in Leicester. I think that and so do my relatives.” While another said: “The staff are very caring. They treat me like I was their family member.”

The team embrace and celebrate every aspect of their residents’ cultural needs and beliefs. They recently won the Care Home Team category of the Great British Care Awards 2018, in recognition of staff who demonstrate ‘outstanding excellence’. At the heart of Asra House is manager Dina, who along with her team goes above and beyond to enrich their residents’ lives.

Mealtimes – a highlight of the day

Mealtimes are always special. The smell of the home-cooked curries, daal dishes, samosas and chapattis fill the home. The chef even makes chutneys, with fresh peaches, mango and chilli by hand, as well as raita, a popular dish with cucumber and yoghurt. For dessert, there are always homemade sweat treats. Some of the residents also love to help prepare the vegetables for these dishes, as they would have done before moving into a residential care home. This can also trigger happy memories for them, many of whom live with dementia.

Celebrating our multi-faith culture

The daily menus of traditional home-cooked Asian cuisine are available in English and Guajarati. Most residents are vegetarians and any meat dishes are always prepared in a separate kitchen. Every single resident’s laundry is also washed separately.

Between them, the team speak a combination of Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Swahili and English. The home, which is situated in Leicester’s ‘Golden Mile’, has its own culture and interpretation champion, ensuring excellent communication with residents and their loved ones.

Asra House has an Islamic prayer room, as well as multi-faith Hindu temple. The team works closely with residents and loved ones to celebrate religious festivals throughout the year, which are usually filled with music, dance and amazing food. These include Eid, Diwali, Ram Navmi and Maha Shivaratri. The team also supports people to visit places of worship outside the home, such as local mosques, temples and gurdwaras.

Residents and their loved ones are actively encouraged to be part of life at Asra House and are responsible for chairing the regular residents’ and relatives’ meetings.

Activities are really tailored to the home’s residents. Charity Learning for the Fourth Age and Planet Leicester Bakers regularly visit to deliver sensory activities, such as bread making sessions with the residents. These have proved to be especially beneficial for those living with dementia, because making – and of course smelling and tasting the bread – is wonderful for stimulating the senses.