Contract for mental health day opportunities: Referral and sign-posting pathway and specialist employment pathway

LBHF and the PCT are seeking to re-model day opportunities across health and socialcare for people with mental health needs. Our intention is to procure high quality and modernised day services focusing on the promotion of recovery, social inclusion and independence and accommodating the diverse and changing needs of the local population.Our model of day opportunities provision has three elements. Each element of the model is intended to provide a pathway from mental health specialist services intomainstream resources.

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), acting on behalf of theHammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust (PCT) is now inviting expressions ofinterest from suitably qualified and experienced organisations for the provision of two elements of the model: a referral and sign-posting service and a specialist employment service.

Referral and sign-posting service
This pathway is targeted at people, generally being treated within primary care, whohave a mild to moderate mental illness or have experienced a severe mental illness but are currently well (these will often be people who were on a standard CPA but havenow been discharged into primary care). This pathway provides short term interventions of 6 – 8 weeks aimed at supporting individuals to retain and access employmentand other activities of meaningful occupation through sign-posting and referral to mainstream resources or through brief interventions delivered by the service provider.The pathway will be delivered from primary care sites, such as GP surgeries.

Specialist employment service
This pathway is targeted at people with a severe mental illness who are being treated within secondary care and who wish to enter into supported and paid employment.The pathway will offer support to individuals to secure and maintain employment. Thedelivery of this pathway will be very closely integrated with services providing secondary care mental health provision.

Organisations may tender for one or both services.

The contracts for each service will run for two (2) years with an option to extend for afurther two (2) years. LBHF and the PCT aim to award the contract on 1 April 2009.

Organisations wishing to bid should e-mail the person listed below requesting the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire(s) and a copy of the specification(s). Please state if you wish to tender for one or both services. Such requests must be received by the Council on or before 16:00 on Thursday 4th December 2008. Requests received after this time and date may not be considered. The PQQ and Specification that interested applicants will be required to review and complete will be despatched by the Councilafter 16:00 on Thursday 4th December 2008.

Christian Harris
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
e-mail: Christian.Harris@lbhf.gov.uk
For further information please contact us by e-mail.