--- title: "Connect for Health Social Prescribing Programme" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04c267" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04c267" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c267.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c267.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX ICB" published: "2024-12-19" --- # Connect for Health Social Prescribing Programme Buyer: NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX ICB Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04c267 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04c267) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c267.json) ## Summary NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) has awarded the contract for its "Connect for Health Social Prescribing Programme" under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). The procurement falls within the health services category and aims to deliver community-based, personalised support through social prescribing in Suffolk, specifically across Ipswich and East Suffolk. Key dates include the contract award date on 5th November 2024, with services commencing on 1st April 2025 and running until 31st March 2027. The contract, valued at £438,501 excluding VAT, was procured through a direct award process, bypassing the traditional public contract regulations due to specific healthcare legislation. This tender represents a significant growth opportunity for businesses involved in health and wellbeing services, particularly those equipped to provide non-medical support addressing social determinants of health. Suitable contenders would include organisations with expertise in social prescribing, community health work, and personalised care planning, such as voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations. Businesses specialising in mental health support, tackling social isolation, or managing chronic conditions could also benefit from this tender, leveraging their services to improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on NHS and social care services. ## Notice Social Prescribing currently exists in Suffolk in a localised scheme across Ipswich and East Suffolk called Connect for Health. The programme provides community-based support, personalised to the individual, using a "what matters to me" approach to create a personalised care and support plan with the person to help improve health and wellbeing by addressing wider determinants of health. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The service is a social prescribing link worker offer to support adults with non-medical needs that affect health and wellbeing. In social prescribing a variety of health care professionals, social care, community teams, statutory services and Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprises (VCFSE) refer people to a social prescribing link worker (SPLW) as well as self-referrals. SPLWs give people time, focusing on 'what matters to me?' to coproduce a simple personalised care and support plan (PCSP), and support people to take control of their health and wellbeing. Social prescribing is an all-age, whole population approach that works particularly well for people who: * have one or more long term conditions; * need support with low level mental health issues; * are lonely or isolated; * have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing. The services use a "what matters to me" approach to create a personalised care and support plan with the person and aims to support people with addressing wider determinants of health to enable better health and wellbeing close to home and in their community. In each INT area, individuals will access the Connect for Health programme by self-referral or be referred by GPs and other health staff, social care providers, or any other professional. They will meet with trained Connect for Health staff (a Link Worker or equivalent) who will arrange an initial 'Discovery Session' to identify what is important to them, including starting to explore their goals and micro-goals. They will together develop a personalised care and support plan (PCSP) identifying their interests and priorities and identify ways of using their strengths to build resilience and empower them to make choices that support their own health and wellbeing. As well as supporting them over a period of weeks or months, the Connect for health community connector or adviser will signpost them to appropriate local sources of support, including services and groups, which are appropriate and proportionate to their needs, ideally using the Suffolk Warm Handover Scheme. Five years of delivery of the Connect for health service has shown that tailored support from a dedicated worker focussed on what matters most to the individual, and a network of connections into non-clinical support reduces demand on NHS and social care services (such as GPs, accident and emergency departments and social workers) by decreasing the number of occasions that clinical appointments are required by individuals with non-medical needs. The contract will commence 1 April 2025 and will end on 31 March 2027. Any extension of the contract is subject to funding. NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice. The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. ### 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 17th December 2024 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). They should be submitted in writing to procurement@snee.nhs.uk. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Award decision-makers: IES Alliance; IESA Partnerships team; IESA Be Well Domain Steering Group. * No conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, were declared by any decision makers. The decision to award this contract in line with Direct Award Process C was based on evaluation against the five required key criteria as follows: * Quality and Innovation - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering a safe and effective service as required by the specification and contract they are currently delivering. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Quality Impact Assessment. * Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering value to the integrated care system and the cost of change would not be outweighed by the potential benefit of a new provider. * Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is positively impacting on the integrated care system through their integration and collaboration delivered as a requirement of the specification and prevention elements linked to the delivery. * Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is meeting needs of the population to ensure equitable access and choice as required by the specification and contract. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Equality Impact Assessment. * Social Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering in line with the SNEE Green Plan, especially increasing initiatives that positively impact on the wider determinants of health. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Sustainability Impact Assessment. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040883-2024 | | 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 | | All stages | Tender, Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 19 Dec 2024 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 5 Nov 2024 | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | £483,501 | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Cancelled | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Active | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX ICB | | Locality | COLCHESTER | | Post town | Colchester | | Postcode | CO4 9QR | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex | | ITL 3 | TLH34 Essex Haven Gateway | | Local authority | Colchester | | Electoral ward | Highwoods | | Westminster constituency | Colchester | | Delivery location | TLH14 Suffolk CC | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | CITIZENS ADVICE IPSWICH | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85100000 - Health services ## Release History - 19 Dec 2024 at 08:51 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040883-2024 - 5 Dec 2024 at 09:38 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039167-2024 ## Notice URLs - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/snee-icb/aspx/Home - https://suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04c267. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04c267.json.