---
title: "NHS Talking Therapies and Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD"
published: "2026-06-08"
---

# NHS Talking Therapies and Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems

Buyer: NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5

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## Summary

The NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) has awarded a contract for the provision of NHS Talking Therapies and Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems to Vita Health Group under urgent circumstances, in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) 2023. The contract, valued at approximately £4,374,907, commenced on 1st April 2026 and will run until 31st March 2027. Located in Basildon & Brentwood Health Economy, this procurement falls within the community health services industry category. The procurement method used was a limited procedure, awarding the contract without prior publication of a call for competition, ensuring continuity of essential mental health services amidst delays in the ongoing procurement process.

This tender represents significant business growth opportunities, particularly for organisations specialising in community health services. Businesses with a robust infrastructure, clinical expertise, and workforce readiness are well-suited for this type of contract, as Vita Health Group’s ready capacity and established therapeutic relationships were key factors in the contract award. This procurement provides a pathway for providers that can effectively deliver high-quality mental health services swiftly and safely, offering a competitive advantage in maintaining service continuity and quality care for individuals facing complex mental health challenges.

## Notice

NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (the Authority) is awarding this contract to the incumbent provider under Regulation 14 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) 2023 due to urgent circumstances arising from delays to an ongoing procurement process. A direct award is required to avoid a service gap and ensure continuity of essential mental health services. Further detail on the justification for this urgent award is set out in Section II.2.4.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (the Authority) is awarding this contract for the provision of NHS Talking Therapies and Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems, delivering evidence-based interventions via face-to-face, online, and telephone consultations to support individuals experiencing mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. In accordance with Regulation 14 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, the Authority has made an urgent award to the incumbent provider due to an immediate and compelling need to maintain continuity of service, and the inability to complete a competitive process within the required timescales without significant risk. The decision to award to the incumbent provider is justified on the following grounds: The ongoing procurement process has been delayed. Further delay to service provision would create a real and unacceptable risk of interruption to essential mental health services, adversely impacting vulnerable service users. The urgency of need means there is insufficient time to recommence or complete a new selection process without jeopardising patient care. * Transitioning to a new provider would necessitate a substantial mobilisation period, including workforce onboarding, governance alignment and clinical integration. This cannot be achieved within the necessary timeframe to avoid a service gap, and therefore no alternative provider could deliver the services safely and effectively at the point required. * The incumbent provider maintains established therapeutic relationships, care pathways and clinical knowledge of current service users. Disruption to these arrangements would present a significant risk to patient safety, service stability and clinical outcomes, particularly for individuals with complex mental health needs. * The current provider has the immediate operational capacity, workforce, infrastructure and clinical expertise to continue delivering the service without interruption. This ensures compliance with the requirement under Regulation 14 to secure services quickly and safely in response to urgency. * The urgent award represents a proportionate response to exceptional circumstances, intended only to maintain continuity of provision while the Authority resolves the delayed procurement process and implements a compliant longer-term commissioning solution. The contract will run for a fixed term of 12 months commencing 1st April 2026 and ending 31st March 2027, with no option to extend. This timeframe enables the newly formed NHS Essex Integrated Care Board to complete the ongoing procurement for an Essex-wide service. The total estimated contract value is PS4374907.00.

### Procurement Information

This contract has been awarded under the urgent circumstances provision of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This contract has been awarded under 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 in this award. This urgent award notice has been published within 30 days of the Authority obtaining contract signature. Rationale as to why this provider has been awarded: In line with the guidance for exemptions in urgent situations under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR), the current provider has been awarded the contract due to the following reasons: *Continuity of Care: The current provider has established relationships with service users, ensuring seamless care and avoiding disruption that could arise from transitioning to a new provider. *Immediate Capacity and Expertise: The provider possesses the necessary infrastructure, workforce, and clinical expertise to continue delivering services without requiring additional mobilisation time. *Avoidance of Service Gap: Appointing a new provider would require a significant transition period, during which service users could experience delays or a temporary lack of access to critical mental health support. *Compliance with Urgent Procurement Regulations: this urgent award is justified as the ICB has identified extreme urgency that prevents the implementation of a competitive tender process to cover the service provision. This contract is being awarded on an urgent basis due to the ongoing procurement process. A delay in awarding this contract would have led to a service gap, negatively impacting service users by increasing waiting times and deteriorating mental health conditions. Awarding the contract until 31st March 2027 allows for the new Essex ICB Organisation to look at an Essex wide service.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/053798-2026 |
| Notice type | Award 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 | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £4,374,907 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD , ESSEX |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex |
| Local authority | Chelmsford |
| Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central |
| Westminster constituency | Chelmsford |
| Delivery location | TLH3 Essex |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | VITA HEALTH GROUP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85323000 - Community health services

## Release History

- 8 Jun 2026 at 12:47 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/053798-2026

## Notice URLs

- https://www.essex.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-06afc5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06afc5.json.