Provision of a Stepdown Service with 24hrs Live in Support for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

20 Oct 2026 at 13:04

Award

05 Oct 2026 at 14:21

Tender

29 Jun 2026 at 17:06

Planning

11 Jun 2026 at 13:25

Summary of the contracting process

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust commissioned 30 low- to medium-support step-down beds across properties in Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. The service provides supported accommodation for people leaving acute mental health inpatient units, with 24-hour staffing at each property. It is intended to help patients return to their communities safely and earlier, reduce delayed discharges and support recovery and independent living. The work includes practical social care support, such as help with benefits and housing, linking people to local activities, and coordinating care and discharge plans with NHS teams and other organisations. The service is focused on mental health rehabilitation and community health support.

The contract was awarded to Lifecome Care Limited following a competitive process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The award date was 19 October 2026, and the service is intended to start on 1 December 2026. The initial five-year term runs to 30 November 2031, with two optional one-year extensions and a maximum period to 30 November 2033. The contract value, including extensions, is £10,652,230. Eight bids were recorded. Evaluation weighted value at 30%, quality and innovation at 27%, integration, collaboration and sustainability at 25%, social value at 10%, and access, health inequalities and choice at 8%. Suppliers first passed basic suitability assessment, then had written submissions assessed for technical and quality merit. One lot covered the whole service.

This award shows demand for a substantial, multi-site mental health step-down service combining supported accommodation with round-the-clock staffing. A credible competitor would need to manage or secure suitable properties across the five named boroughs and provide dependable staffing in each, alongside person-centred support that enables safe discharge and progression towards independent living. The selected provider was judged against its ability to deliver quality and innovation, work collaboratively across health and social care, sustain service continuity, improve access and choice, reduce inequalities, and deliver social value. Practical capability in discharge planning, recovery-focused support, benefits and housing processes, community referral, and multidisciplinary working would therefore be relevant. The contract went to an SME, indicating that a smaller provider was able to compete, while the service’s multi-property coverage and 24-hour operation require effective operational capacity.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of a Stepdown Service with 24hrs Live in Support for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Notice Description

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) has awarded a contract to commission 30 low to medium Step Down Beds within multiple properties to serve the boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster. This includes sufficient 24-hour staffing coverage in each property. The service is commissioned to support acute discharge and reduce delayed discharges with step down placements being time-limited and actively managed to enable services users to move on.<br/>The service is intended to commence on 1 December 2026 for an initial term of five years, with an option to extend the Contract for up to two further periods of 12 months each, giving a maximum potential contract term of seven years.

Lot Information

Lot 1

CNWL is a combined trust that provides services throughout a person's life, covering community, sexual health, mental health, offender care and addictions services in London, Milton Keynes and beyond. This includes providing mental health care to the North West London population of Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.

The Trust has made significant progress in improving and advancing urgent and acute care pathways. The ambition is to ensure there are a range of alternative provisions available, and for people who require an admission, the admission should be purposeful and meaningful. Early discharge is facilitated with a focus on an individual's recovery journey and to enable them to live independently in the community and at home.

The Trust is intending on awarding a contract to provide a supported accommodation service for individuals to 'step down' from acute mental health inpatient units. There will be locations across all five North West London boroughs to ensure good accessibility, with adequate 24/7 on-site support.

The aim of the Step-Down service is to facilitate safe and early discharge from acute settings, bring service users back into their community as early as possible, promote independence and autonomy, and provide effective and supportive mental healthcare in the least restrictive setting possible.

The aims of the service include to:

- Support early discharge of patients from acute mental health wards safely into the community, supporting a reduction in length of stay and releasing capacity.
- Support early discharge of CNWL service users in out of area beds, including, where necessary, co-ordinating service user repatriations.
- Provide recovery-focused environments that support service users to build independence, engage with activities of daily living and remain complaint with treatment.
- Provide social care support, particularly in relation to benefits and housing process.
- Refer/ signpost patients to activities within the local community that will support recovery.
- Provide support to service users with discharge goals and ensure timely discharge is being facilitated so the Step-Down service can continue to support flow.
- Work jointly with CNWL Teams and other relevant organisations to support referrals, patient care and discharge planning, and participate in/ lead MDT Professionals meetings.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) are intending to award a contract to LifeCome Care Limited following a Competitive Process under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

The lifetime value of the contract (5 years with two optional one year extensions options) is PS10,652,230.

The anticipated contract start date is 01/12/2026.

Renewal: The tendered contract will be a 5 year term 01/12/2026 - 30/11/2031 with a 2 year extension period available taking the contract term to 30/11/2033

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b2f1
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098996-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85312500 - Rehabilitation services

85323000 - Community health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£10,833,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£10,833,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£10,652,230 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Oct 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
22 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Dec 2026 - 30 Nov 2033 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
NW1 5JD
Postcode Area
North West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLI London

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
Marylebone
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

LIFECOME CARE LIMITED

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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