---
title: "DHSC: Mental Health Impact on Families with Critically Ill Children Report 2026"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06666e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06666e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06666e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06666e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE"
published: "2026-03-10"
---

# DHSC: Mental Health Impact on Families with Critically Ill Children Report 2026

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06666e

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## Summary

The Department of Health & Social Care is in the planning stage of a procurement process aimed at commissioning an independent report titled "DHSC: Mental Health Impact on Families with Critically Ill Children Report 2026." This initiative is aligned with the government's 10 Year Health Plan to enhance mental health support for families facing the challenges of a critically ill child. The procurement process involves preliminary market engagement to refine strategy and specifications, inviting feedback from potential bidders until 31 March 2026. The process includes regions such as London, UKC, UKD, and more, highlighting a focus on social and economic research services within the health sector.

This tender presents significant opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs specialising in social and economic research to contribute to impactful health-related projects. Organisations with expertise in assessing mental health needs and developing evidence-based interventions are particularly well-suited to respond. The financial scope includes a potential gross value of £204,000, and the process encourages supplier participation to shape future health policies supporting families. Businesses with the capability to deliver robust analysis and actionable recommendations for improving mental health services will find this tender an attractive opportunity for growth and strategic engagement in the public sector.

## Notice

The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking to commission an external partner to produce an independent written report on the impact that a childhood diagnosis of critical illness has on families. This work supports the government's wider commitment to expanding mental health and wellbeing provision under the 10 Year Health Plan, where identifying and supporting groups at risk is a key part of effective early intervention. The report (Hugh's Report) will generate a robust evidence base to inform policy decisions on how best to strengthen support for affected families. It will examine the mental health needs of parents, guardians and siblings, assess the availability and effectiveness of current support, and highlight where gaps or barriers exist so that future interventions can be better targeted. Key Deliverables Identify evidence on the mental health impact of a critical illness diagnosis of a child on their families. Determine what forms of emotional and psychological support affected families need. Assess whether the needs and barriers for families of critically ill children differ from other groups with mental health needs. Examine the cost, accessibility and effectiveness of existing interventions supporting these families. Provide recommendations for: Further research areas, data sources or data collection needed. Practical, actionable next steps based on what works. Improvements to existing support. This is not a call for competition, but an opportunity to gather feedback to better understand market capabilities, refine final specifications, decide the procurement strategy, and encourage supplier engagement.

### Planning Information

We are sharing the draft specifications, proposed procurement approach, and timetable with the market to invite feedback from potential bidders. 
The objective of the preliminary market engagement is: 
- Understanding market capability 
- Decide on final Procurement Strategy 
- Get feedback on Specifications 
- Identify any barriers 
- Encouraging Supplier Participation and Competition 
Interested parties can access the relevant documents via the Atamis system at https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome using the contract reference (C424742). 
You can submit the Questionnaire and capability assessment by sending a message via Atamis or by sending an email to ccsinbox@dhsc.gov.uk quoting “Mental Health Impact - Hugh's report” 31/03/2026 at 5pm. 
The input by suppliers may help shape the final approach and procurement strategy. The questionnaire will also allow suppliers to raise any additional questions.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/021375-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 10 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 27 Apr 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 8 Jul 2026 - 8 Jan 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £170,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1H 0EU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79311400 - Economic research services
- 79315000 - Social research services

## Release History

- 10 Mar 2026 at 14:35 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/021375-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/021375-2026
  10th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
- 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-06666e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06666e.json.