---
title: "DHC DH1389 Recovery Houses and Step-Down Bed Provision"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-067c51"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-067c51"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c51.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c51.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DORSET HEALTHCARE UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST"
published: "2026-07-23"
---

# DHC DH1389 Recovery Houses and Step-Down Bed Provision

Buyer: DORSET HEALTHCARE UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-067c51

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-067c51)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c51.json)

## Summary

The Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust is initiating a procurement process for the "DHC DH1389 Recovery Houses and Step-Down Bed Provision", within the health services industry category. The tender focuses on short-term residential care for mental health crises and post-hospital discharge care, aimed at providing an alternative to hospital admission. This process is in the planning stage, with a market engagement event scheduled for 5th August 2026 at Cobham Sports and Social Club in Wimborne. The deadline to express interest in attending this event is midday on 3rd August 2026. The contract is valued at £3,860,000 and spans from 1st March 2027 to 28th February 2030, with the potential for renewal extending to 29th February 2032. The communication future notice date is set for 10th August 2026.

This procurement opportunity is a significant prospect for businesses specialising in mental health services, residential care, and community health support. It offers substantial growth potential for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) capable of providing innovative and supportive residential care solutions. Engaging in the pre-market event could allow businesses to influence service specifications and gain insight into the Trust's procurement strategy. Hence, businesses with expertise in flexible, community-based mental health solutions are well-positioned to leverage this tender to expand their service offerings and establish a presence within the NHS framework.

## Notice

The requirement is for the provision of community based short-term residential stays, providing care for those in a mental health crisis, as an alternative to hospital admission and to provide care following hospital discharge. Further to the previous Pre-Market Notice, there is a pre-market engagement event planned for 10:00am -11:30am on Wednesday 5th August 2026 at Cobham Sports and Social Club, Wimborne, BH21 3DA for this tender. The exercise is for a dual requirement for Recovery Houses and Step-Down Beds: Recovery "Crisis" Houses Offer community based, short-term residential stays, providing supportive and least restrictive care for those in a mental health crisis, as an alternative to hospital admission. Nationally often referred to as "Crisis Houses", in Dorset these are named "Recovery Houses" Step-Down Beds Offer a community based, interim residential stays, for people who are in an acute mental health bed who are ready for discharge, whose discharge could safely take place if dedicated support is in place in a step-down setting (either in preparation for return home or in support of identification of appropriate onward accommodation and support) . During the event, further information regarding the tender will be provided and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Participants should note that Dorset HealthCare reserves the right to use any information shared within this market engagement event to develop a mature service specification for future procurement purposes. Any costs incurred by participating in this exercise must be borne by the participating organisations. Following this exercise, Dorset HealthCare will determine how it will approach the market to secure the services. Please note that any future procurement will be subject to further advertisement. Participation in this market engagement event will not automatically entitle any organisation's involvement in this procurement, and non-attendance will not preclude an organisation from bidding for the subsequent tender. If you are interested in attending this event, please express your interest by emailing p.spender@nhs.net and dercia.pestana@nhs.net no later than midday on Monday 3rd August 2026. Thank you.

### Planning Information

Requests for any information should be forwarded to Perry Spender - p.spender@nhs.net and Dercia Pestana - dercia.pestana@nhs.net

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069920-2026 |
| 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 | 23 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 10 Aug 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £3,860,000 |
| 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 | DORSET HEALTHCARE UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | POOLE |
| Post town | Bournemouth |
| Postcode | BH17 0RB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset |
| ITL 3 | TLK63 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
| Local authority | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
| Electoral ward | Canford Heath |
| Westminster constituency | Mid Dorset and North Poole |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85100000 - Health services

## Release History

- 23 Jul 2026 at 15:08 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069920-2026
- 2 Apr 2026 at 15:42 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031131-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069920-2026
  23rd July 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031131-2026
  2nd April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/
- 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-067c51. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-067c51.json.