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NHSWYICB - Here for You Wakefield

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

04 Sep 2026 at 10:35

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board is procuring a seven-day-a-week Here For You service for adults experiencing mental health crisis in Wakefield. The service provides an integrated crisis pathway, including referrals from ambulance services, diversion from Accident and Emergency, telephone and face-to-face support, signposting to other support, targeted help for frequent users, and outreach to underserved and priority populations. Delivery is in Wakefield. This is an adult mental health and crisis support service within the health services category. The existing provider, Touchstone - Leeds, is a small or medium-sized organisation and has been selected to continue delivering the service. The requirement keeps the existing population, geography, referral routes, eligibility criteria and delivery model, with operating hours extended to support a 24/7 mental health crisis pathway.

The procurement has reached the award stage. NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board selected Touchstone - Leeds through Provider Selection Regime Direct Award Process C, an award procedure without prior publication of a competition. The contract was signed on 2 September 2026 and has a value of £4,850,580. The contract period is 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with an option to extend for two years. The requirement was assessed against equally weighted, high-importance criteria covering quality and innovation, value, integration, collaboration and service sustainability, improving access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice, and social value. The assessment found all criteria strongly assured. One provider submitted evidence and passed the basic selection checks.

This requirement indicates demand for an established adult mental health crisis provider able to operate as part of an integrated NHS pathway in Wakefield. A credible future supplier would need safe and effective crisis support, robust safeguarding, information governance, financial standing and indemnity arrangements, together with evidence of meeting exclusion and debarment requirements. Relevant experience includes ambulance referral pathways, Accident and Emergency diversion, telephone and face-to-face support, signposting, targeted work with frequent users, and provision for underserved groups. The buyer also values partnership working, workforce and governance assurance, service sustainability, training for practitioners, measurable access and equality outcomes, and demonstrable value for public money. Social value credentials, local community links, prevention activity, fair employment and not-for-profit or community-focused delivery would strengthen a future case.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

NHSWYICB - Here for You Wakefield

Notice Description

7 day a week Here For You service for adults in mental health crisis in Wakefield.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Contract Authority; NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board intends to award a contract to an existing provider following Direct Award Process C. The authority is publishing this notice in Find a Tender in accordance with the NHS Provider Selection Regime.

Contract Period: 01/04/2027 - 31/03/2030 with an option to extend for 2 Years

Contract Value: PS4,850,580. Additional information: The Record of Decision Making created at the time of the decision confirms that the service:
* is an existing service;
* is delivered by an existing provider Touchstone-Leeds;
* is replacing a contract that is due to expire; and
* is therefore eligible in principle for Direct Award Process C.
The Record also identifies the named decision maker, senior approving bodies, contract value and term, and confirms that no conflicts of interest were declared. This document evidences that the decision was taken consciously and contemporaneously within the PSR framework, rather than by default or assumption.

The Here For You Wakefield specification demonstrates that the proposed contract does not introduce considerable change when compared with the existing arrangements across the following aspects:
* the service model remains an integrated pathway within crisis mental health;
* the population, geography, referral routes and eligibility criteria are unchanged;
* delivery remains with the same incumbent provider, using the same delivery model;
* there is no reconfiguration or transfer of material risk.
The ICB actively reviewed the proposed scope, outcomes, delivery model, and risk profile against the existing contract and concluded that these elements did not meet the PSR "considerable change" threshold. While the specification is presented in an updated format, the underlying service is consistent with the existing contract.
Regulation 6(12) External Factors Exception has been applied to extend the operating hours of the service and resultantly increased the contract price. This change in operational hours is directly attributable to the NHS England requirement to develop a 24/7 mental health crisis pathway. The increase in contract value is therefore directly attributable to national policy changes external to both the commissioner and provider rather than a commissioner-led redesign or expansion of service scope. To confirm, the change is limited to opening hours rather than service scope. The annual value of the contract will increase approximately 35% due to this increase in opening hours.

The Service Review Template - PSR Key Criteria provides detailed, narrative based evidence demonstrating that the existing provider:
* is satisfying the current contract to a sufficient standard; and
* is likely to satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard.
The Service Review assesses performance against all PSR key criteria, including:
* Quality and innovation - evidenced by service outcomes including direct relay from ambulance services and Accident and Emergency diversion. For example, 2025-26 saw referrals for 567 individuals, of which 9% were directly from Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
* Value and stewardship of public funds - demonstrated through
return on investment, efficiency gains, cost effectiveness and system savings due to Accident and Emergency diversion for those experiencing mental health crisis. In 2025-26 direct referrals from Yorkshire Ambulance Service alone were estimated to have saved Emergency departments between PS12,500 and PS200,000.
* Integration, collaboration, and sustainability - reflected in partnership working across the mental health crisis pathway, alignment with wider pathways, embedded delivery and training development across relevant parts of the system. For example, in 2025-26 Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training was provided to 93 practitioners across Wakefield and Leeds. There were also 1042 occasions on which Here For You service users were signposted to other sources of support/
* Access, inequalities, and choice - supported by targeted interventions to support frequent users, inclusive or adapted provision and reach into underserved and priority populations through Pathways Development provision. Choice is a key element of Here For You and provision medium service user led; in 2025-26 63% of 1:1 support was provided via telephone and 37% face to face.
* Social value - including
prevention activity, community capacity building, wider economic and social benefits (e.g. Real Living Wage employer, Investors in People Platinum) and intrinsic value of locally rooted, not for profit organisation. Touchstone are also ranked Most Inclusive Charity Employer in the Inclusive Companies Top 50 Employers Awards 2025.
The ICB considered not only historic performance, but also whether the provider's established workforce, governance arrangements and delivery model provide assurance of continued performance under the proposed contract. The proposed contract does not introduce expanded cohorts or increase shift level demand beyond that already successfully managed by the provider. The provider's ability to expand operating hours is demonstrated by the strong success in remodelling service provision hours in other areas.

In determining the appropriate procurement route, the ICB considered whether a competitive process would deliver additional benefit. Given the continuity of need, the integration of the service and provider into mental health crisis pathways in Wakefield, the provider's performance and the risks associated with service disruption, the ICB concluded that a competitive process would not be proportionate to the time, cost and delivery risk involved.
Taken together, the three documents; Record of Decision Making, Service Specification and Service Review Template provide a coherent and auditable justification for the use of Direct Award Process C, demonstrating that:
* the regulatory conditions for Process C are met;
* the decision was taken lawfully, transparently, and proportionately
* the existing provider sufficiently meets the PSR criteria; and
* continuity of a effective and system beneficial service is in the best interests of patients and the wider system.

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 and Procurement Act 2023 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 the relevant authority by 16 September 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award a contract under the PSR.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f203
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083789-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award 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
SME

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
£4,850,580 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRADFORD
Postcode
BD1 4AS
Postcode Area
Bradford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE4 West Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE41 Bradford
Delivery Location
TLE45 Wakefield
Local Authority
Bradford
Electoral Ward
City
Westminster Constituency
Bradford West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Touchstone-Leeds

Further Information

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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