NENC026 Trauma Intervention and Bereavement Counselling for Children NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board

This is a Direct Award being made under Schedule 5 Section 13 - Urgency of the Procurement Act 2023 and in accordance with the Procurement Regulations 2024 where

Where-

(a)the goods, services or works to be supplied under the public contract are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, and

(b)as a result the public contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure.

The action therefore of the Relevant Authority has been

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition for a contract to last for maximum 12 months.

NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Contracting Authority) have awarded a contract without prior publication of a call for competition for a contract to last for maximum 12 months under Schedule 5 Section 13 - Urgency of the Procurement Act 2023 and in accordance with the Procurement Regulations 2024 under NHS Standard Contract 2025-26.

The service is to deliver Trauma Intervention and Bereavement Counselling Service for children, young people and young adults aged 4 - 30 years within the North East and North Cumbria areas.

The overarching aims of the service for the period are to:

• support the individuals and communities across Northeast and North Cumbria affected by suicide and traumatic death
• reduce the prejudice and discrimination associated with suicide
• develop relationships with statutory services and other mental health providers in planning for the development of additional service opportunities to meet individual and community needs.

Recent analysis of near real time suicide surveillance and clinical audit has shown that those who experience trauma and loss at a young age are at increased risk of taking their own lives before the age of 25 and 30 years old for those with experience of the "Looked after" system and for this reason the Relevant Authority deemed necessary to urgently intervene to provide immediate support to children and young people who have experienced a significant loss or trauma through appropriate counselling.