Award

Mental Health Specialist Advisory (and Support) Services

NHS FRIMLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (ICB)

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

14 Aug 2025 at 10:55

Award

02 Jan 2025 at 14:14

Summary of the contracting process

The NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) has commissioned a procurement process to award a contract for Mental Health Specialist Advisory and Support Services. The contract, scheduled to commence on 1st July 2025 and run for two years with options to extend annually, focuses on providing specialised expertise regarding debt, welfare benefits, housing, and employment advice to patients with significant mental health issues across Frimley. The procurement falls under the health services industry category and operates under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) without prior publication of a call for competition. The NHS Frimley ICB, located in Bristol, is managing this procurement which aims to ensure the continuation of high-level advisory services to support individuals' independence and wellbeing.

This tender presents significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for organisations specialising in providing mental health support and advisory services. The service model emphasises collaboration with existing local providers, such as Citizens Advice East Berkshire, which fosters innovation and ensures a seamless delivery of essential support across the Frimley area. Businesses experienced in addressing social determinants of health and those capable of delivering comprehensive mental health support solutions could effectively compete. Given the aim to alleviate distress linked to socio-economic factors and stigma, providers with robust community engagement and service delivery credentials are ideally suited to benefit from this procurement opportunity.

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Notice Title

Mental Health Specialist Advisory (and Support) Services

Notice Description

NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) (The Commissioner), intends to commission Mental Health Specialist Advisory (and Support) Services. The service delivers a high level of specialist expertise in relation to debt, welfare benefits, housing, and employment (in conjunction with IPS) advice to patients with significant mental ill health and is an essential part of the supportive infrastructure, maintaining people's independence and wellbeing, making this an essential service on the recovery pathway across Frimley. This service has been commissioned as a model that supports access to an advisory service for all people with a significant mental health problem in the least restrictive, de-stigmatising way, whilst supporting the implementation of a 'recovery' focused approach at all times. The aims and objectives of the service which have been met to date include: * Evidence of alleviation of distress caused by concerns associated with debt, benefits, housing and employment issues through the user satisfaction surveys and any outcome management tools. * Access to support and advice in a timely manner to directly address socially determined triggers for a mental health crisis. * To improve the quality of life for adults with a mental health illness through access to a specialist service tailored to the client group, providing free, independent, confidential, and impartial advice for people who due to their illness are inhibited from using general advisory services at that point in time. * Support, educate and raise awareness to ensure people with mental health problems are appropriately supported within general advisory services. * Support clients to obtain additional and appropriate benefits to assist independence, support quality of life and recovery. * Manage and reduce the debt burden of clients with a mental illness. * Support resolution of housing or employment issues that may have a negative impact on their independence and mental well-being. * Raise local and national awareness of the types of problems encountered by clients of the service. * Reduce anxiety and stress by ensuring that clients that would benefit from support are able to access an advisor, or supported to do so, prior to escalation of their issues having a detrimental effect on their mental health. The intention is to award this new contract to the existing provider East Berkshire CAB (following a market engagement exercise) who have proposed an innovative collaboration (with themselves as the lead provider and contract holder).with the Frimley South equivalent service provider Heathlands CAB This provides assurance of a high level of expertise and knowledge to continue delivery of this essential specialist service across Frimley North/East Berkshire.

Lot Information

Lot 1

This service provides support to people presenting with significant mental health needs meaning they are unable to access or gain maximum benefit from a mainstream CAB offer or equivalent. There is clear evidence of the stigma, discrimination, and difficulties people with mental health problems face in the work environment, the benefit system and dealing with housing and money services. These are just some of the areas in which people experience exclusion. Working, welfare and personal finance are key to maintaining a regular income. When something goes wrong, security and the daily routine is lost. So many of the issues that this service supports individuals with often are the trigger for a mental health crisis. The Community Mental Health Framework (NHS 2019) identifies the impact of social factors in creating health inequality and contributing to significant mental health need for individuals and recommends a joint approach between NHS and CVSE to provide support and intervention in a holistic way. The service delivers a specialist advisory service to clients with significant mental health problems in the community who are unable to access, or be successfully supported by more generic community services, namely Citizens Advice (CA). If people can be supported by mainstream CA services, this will be the first point of contact and support. Predominantly, people accessing this service will be under the care of * Secondary care mental health services (e.g., CMHT, Crisis resolution / home treatment, IMPACTT) * Mental Health Integrated Community Services (MHICS) * Services for Personality difficulties, eating disorder, rehabilitation, IPS (individual placement support) and other services operating under the CMH Transformation model. * MH Practitioners operating under the ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement scheme) in Primary Care Networks * The service will also support people who have been admitted to a mental health in patient unit across Frimley if appropriate. The service delivers a high level of specialist expertise in relation to debt, welfare benefits, housing, and employment (in conjunction with IPS) advice to patients with significant mental ill health and is an essential part of the supportive infrastructure, maintaining people's independence and wellbeing, making this an essential service on the recovery pathway across Frimley. This service has been commissioned as a model that supports access to an advisory service for all people with a significant mental health problem in the least restrictive, de-stigmatising way, whilst supporting the implementation of a 'recovery' focused approach at all times. The aims and objectives of the service which have been met to date include: * Evidence of alleviation of distress caused by concerns associated with debt, benefits, housing and employment issues through the user satisfaction surveys and any outcome management tools. * Access to support and advice in a timely manner to directly address socially determined triggers for a mental health crisis. * To improve the quality of life for adults with a mental health illness through access to a specialist service tailored to the client group, providing free, independent, confidential, and impartial advice for people who due to their illness are inhibited from using general advisory services at that point in time. * Support, educate and raise awareness to ensure people with mental health problems are appropriately supported within general advisory services. * Support clients to obtain additional and appropriate benefits to assist independence, support quality of life and recovery. * Manage and reduce the debt burden of clients with a mental illness. * Support resolution of housing or employment issues that may have a negative impact on their independence and mental well-being. * Raise local and national awareness of the types of problems encountered by clients of the service. * Reduce anxiety and stress by ensuring that clients that would benefit from support are able to access an adviser, or supported to do so, prior to escalation of their issues having a detrimental effect on their mental health. As a result of the market engagement, the ICB intends to award this contract under the most suitable provider process and the intention is to award for 2 years (+ 1 + 1). The new contract will be provided from 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2027. This procurement has been carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 15th January 2025. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR'

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04cd3e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/048705-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£480,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20256 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
19 Dec 20241 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS FRIMLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (ICB)
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
scwcsu.cbprocurement@nhs.net
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS1 3NX
Post Town
Bristol
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK51 Bristol, City of
Delivery Location
TLJ South East (England)

Local Authority
Bristol, City of
Electoral Ward
Central
Westminster Constituency
Bristol Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CITIZENS ADVICE EAST BERKSHIRE

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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