This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

17 Sep 2026 at 10:41

Award

04 Sep 2026 at 10:35

Summary of the contracting process

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has commissioned the Here For You Wakefield service: a seven-day-a-week support service for adults experiencing a mental health crisis in Wakefield. It is a health service delivered as part of the integrated mental health crisis pathway, with the purpose of providing safe, effective support, improving access, reducing health inequalities and diverting people from emergency departments where appropriate. Delivery is in Wakefield, including telephone and face-to-face support. The service works with ambulance, emergency department and wider mental health services, and includes referral, signposting, partnership working, training and support for frequent users and underserved groups. The buying organisation is NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, and the appointed provider is Touchstone - Leeds.

The contract has been awarded to Touchstone - Leeds under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, using Direct Award Process C without a prior call for competition. The contract was signed on 2 September 2026 and has a value of £4,850,580. Its stated period is 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with an option to extend for two years. The award followed a review of the existing provider and service, including financial standing, insurance, information governance, safeguarding and exclusion checks. The PSR key criteria were equally weighted and assessed through narrative evidence: quality and innovation, value, integration and sustainability, improving access and reducing inequalities, and social value. Quality accounted for 100% of the award basis and cost for 0%.

This requirement indicates demand for specialist adult mental health crisis support delivered within an established NHS pathway. Suppliers seeking future work of this type would need a safe, effective and integrated service model, with the ability to work closely with ambulance services, emergency departments, mental health teams and community partners. Relevant capability includes telephone and face-to-face crisis support, referral and signposting, diversion from emergency care, support for frequent users, inclusive provision and work addressing health inequalities. Credibility would also require robust safeguarding, information governance, financial standing, indemnity cover and exclusion checks. Evidence of service quality, value for public money, partnership working, workforce capacity, training delivery and measurable social value would be important, particularly for a provider expected to maintain continuity while extending operating hours.

How relevant is this notice?

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.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f203
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088079-2026
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
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
17 Sep 2026Today
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

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

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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