---
title: "Antenatal and Postnatal Baby Feeding Support service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "LONDON BOROUGH OF HOUNSLOW"
published: "2025-05-06"
---

# Antenatal and Postnatal Baby Feeding Support service

Buyer: LONDON BOROUGH OF HOUNSLOW  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd

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## Summary

The London Borough of Hounslow has awarded a contract for the "Antenatal and Postnatal Baby Feeding Support service" to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This procurement is classified under the community health services category and pertains to services intended to enhance infant feeding support in Hounslow, London. The contract was awarded on 27th March 2025, with services set to commence on 19th May 2025 and conclude by 2nd May 2026. The direct procurement method used bypassed competition, falling below the threshold regulations. This project aligns with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 and focuses on expanding support for families within Hounslow. The announcement was made under a contract award notice on 6th May 2025.

This contract presents substantial business opportunities, particularly for organisations specialising in healthcare delivery and support services. Large-scale healthcare providers with capabilities to manage community health initiatives could find this a particularly advantageous contract. By contributing to critical objectives like increasing breastfeeding rates and reducing emergency presentations at A&E, businesses can engage in impactful, community-focused work. The contract’s scope allows service providers to demonstrate innovation in health support delivery, engage with local government priorities, and foster partnerships that may lead to additional, long-term opportunities as part of the Family Hubs initiative. Businesses with expertise in healthcare service development and community engagement will be well-suited to meet the expectations outlined in this procurement.

## Notice

This notice relates to the process set out in Regulation 10(9) of The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Following the completion of a standstill period at midnight on the TBC 2025 London Borough of Hounslow intend to appoint Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, via the West Middlesex University Hospital, to lead the provision of Antenatal and Postnatal Baby Feeding Support Service in Hounslow for 12 months delivering a range of Local Authority commissioned infant feeding support services to support delivery of these objectives and priorities: * Reduce the maximum number of hours between any two postnatal infant feeding drop-ins by more than half, to a maximum of 24 hours; * Increase the provision of out-of-hours postnatal drop-in sessions by 200% to allow for increased attendance from mums who are not comfortable speaking English, families with limited transport options, working families etc.; * Increase the number of postnatal drop-in sessions in or within walking distance of Core20 areas to ensure breastfeeding support provision for families from the most deprived backgrounds; * Reduce the number of families presenting at A&E with babies under 28 days old with feeding issues by establishing a daily coverage of a postnatal drop-in offer. Services to be delivered as part of the contract: Since 2022, the Infant Feeding Team working from West Middlesex University Hospital in Hounslow, part of Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, have been delivering antenatal classes and postnatal baby feeding support drop-ins. This work is mandated by the Start for Life and Family Hubs project, which resources the service via the Infant Feeding strand. Project delivery is for a fixed term within the scope of the Family Hubs project to supplement the cost of the delivery of the Start for Life objectives, including the Family Hubs minimum and go further standards, and the Hounslow Baby Feeding Plan objectives. In Hounslow we have high breastfeeding initiation rates, which have seen an increase since 2022 and continue to increase over the past year. In Q3 of 2023/24, the breastfeeding initiation rate in Hounslow was 93%. Despite this high rate of mums wishing to breastfeed their babies, there is a drop off in the rates of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. In Q2 of 2023/24, the breastfeeding rate at 6-8 weeks in Hounslow was 61%. This decrease of 32% indicates that although almost all mums try breastfeeding, around a third of them stop breastfeeding before they want to and before the WHO recommends. The central government Departments for Education and for Health and Social Care have pledged to continue to fund the Family Hubs programme for another 12 months, giving us opportunity to continue current provision, and focus on the postnatal period to address the drop-off. The current postnatal infant feeding drop-in offer is made up of seven drop-in sessions, including four NCT Baby Cafes and three maternity infant feeding team drop-ins. The current maximum number of hours between any two drop-in session totals 47 hours. This is between Monday's infant feeding team drop-in and Wednesday's NCT Baby Cafe.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018991-2025 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 May 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 27 Mar 2025 |
| Contract period | 18 May 2025 - 2 May 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £144,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | LONDON BOROUGH OF HOUNSLOW |
| Locality | HOUNSLOW, LONDON |
| Post town | Twickenham |
| Postcode | TW3 3EB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI7 Outer London - West and North West |
| ITL 3 | TLI75 Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames |
| Local authority | Hounslow |
| Electoral ward | Hounslow West |
| Westminster constituency | Feltham and Heston |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CHELSEA AND WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85323000 - Community health services

## Release History

- 6 May 2025 at 09:26 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018991-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018991-2025
  6th May 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-050cdd. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-050cdd.json.