NHS England South West - Specialist Counselling to Reduce Health Inequalities and a Befriending Service for Women Who Have Experienced Sexual Violence in Avon & Somerset

Description

NHS England South West is commissioning specialist counselling services to address health inequalities, specifically for refugees, asylum seekers and Deaf women, and the provision of a 'Befriending' service, for women who have experienced sexual violence. This provision is for the area of Avon and Somerset, to continue the work of the 'Avon and Somerset Enhanced Mental Health Pathfinder' which has been running since 2022. The intention is to move from 'proof of concept' stage to an ongoing model of delivery based on proven outcomes. The Commissioner intends to contract for the Services using the National NHS Standard Contract. The contract term will be for a duration of 4 years and 6 months and will commence from 1st April 2025. The total contract value is £440,775 over the 4 years and 6 months. This notice is placed to set out NHS England South West's (the Commissioner's) intention to award a contract under the Most Suitable Provider Process of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). Lot 1: NHS England South West is commissioning specialist counselling services to address health inequalities, specifically for refugees, asylum seekers and Deaf women, and the provision of a 'Befriending' service, for women who have experienced sexual violence. This provision is for the area of Avon and Somerset, to continue the work of the 'Avon and Somerset Enhanced Mental Health Pathfinder' which has been running since 2022. The intention is to move from 'proof of concept' stage to an ongoing model of delivery based on proven outcomes. Scope: Specialist 'health inequalities' counselling service for women, specifically refugees, asylum-seekers, and Deaf women. Scope: The Befriending service to provide isolated women with complex mental health needs with a befriender. The services will be for people aged 18 and over. A notice was published for 14 days informing the market of the intention to follow the Most Suitable Provider Process. The Commissioner sought a provider/s who were suitable and capable to continue the delivery of this work. To express an interest, providers were required to complete and submit a short Most Suitable Provider Questionnaire through the Atamis portal. Only 1 expression of interest was received, from Womankind. A Request for Information (RfI) was sent to them seeking the return of further information to support the Commissioners assessment. After conducting an assessment, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS South West is content that the they will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. The Commissioner intends to contract for the Services using the National NHS Standard Contract. The contract term will be for a duration of 4 years and 6 months and will commence from 1st April 2025. The total contract value is £440,775 over the 4 years and 6 months. This notice is placed to set out NHS England South West's (the Commissioner's) intention to award a contract under the Most Suitable Provider Process of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This is an existing service being awarded to an existing provider. This exercise was carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.