Primary Care Mental Health Services for NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board

This is an Intended Approach Notice to award a contract using the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) Process. The Contracting Authority is seeking to satisfy its statutory duty to ensure service provision for the patient population of Mid and South Essex, whilst also reflecting the need for efficiencies and aligning the Service with the ICB’s strategic objectives and purposes to:

• Improve the health of our population, by ensuring improved patient outcomes with a focus on quality of delivery across the ICS.
• Ensure patients have an equitable offer across the board, while encouraging partnership working amongst organisations across the system.
• Enhance productivity and value for money, by reducing administration time, duplication and overall management costs.
• Promote a whole system approach and harmonise the current services.
• By aligning the contracts, the ICB intends to identify better value for money and efficiencies in the utilising of resources from estates, digital infrastructures, workforce. As well as seeing data quality reporting improvement.

The proposed intention of approach (MSP) under PSR will be a flexible and bespoke ‘Structured Dialogue’, which is intended to not be competitive in nature. This approach is designed to establish an Alliance, via creation of a framework of governance within which the ICB and any interested providers of Primary Care Mental Health Services may come together over a defined period in two-way dialogue, to support the design of the ICBs Service Specification (“the Specification”), as well as identify a collaborative solution to such Specification. A Structured Dialogue enables the ICB and suitable, technically capable providers within the market to bring together their knowledge and expertise to develop solutions to deliver specific outcomes. The aim of this two-way dialogue is to allow for greater co-production, scrutiny, and commitment.

'Primary Care Mental Health Services' comprises of two services:

1. Physical Health Checks for Serious Mental Illness.

People living with SMI face one of the greatest health inequality gaps in England. The life expectancy for people with SMI is 15-20 years lower than the general population. This disparity in health outcomes is partly due to physical health needs being overlooked. The target for the GP practices and providers is to ensure that at least 75% of people on the GP SMI register have an annual physical health check and follow-up as required and are supported to access relevant interventions in relation to their physical health. Adults 18+ that meet criteria for eligibility for SMI health checks include a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorders or other psychotic disorders and those prescribed lithium. The total aggregate contract value for this service will be approx. £3,273,209.

2. Mental Health Practitioners in PCNs.

The Mental Health Practitioner role for adults and older adults should support people with complex mental health needs that are not suitable for Talking Therapies provision. This aligns with the Long Term Plan commitment to design integrated mental health pathways across primary and secondary care for people with SMI. Adults 18+ with common and serious mental illness will be offered access to a wide range of services including, but not limited to, personalised and trauma-informed care, psychological therapies, physical health checks, medicine management and care services. The total aggregate contract value for this service will be approx. £48,788,932.

The proposed contract duration will be for a 3-year period, with the option to extend for a further 24 months, from the 01st April 2025. The total aggregate value for the two combined Primary Care Mental Health Services for the entire 5-year contract term is £52,062,141.00, as outlined in this FTS notice.

Any queries will be considered until the 09th September 2024 at 17:30hrs and emails should be sent to: cariad.burgess@attain.co.uk. Additional information: This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intended approach notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to 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 to this award. The intention is to award a contract using the MSP process. The award decision-makers is NHS MSE ICB.