Market Engagement Event – Brent Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS)

The Council wishes to engage with organisations that have demonstrable experience in delivering perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships services, including with fathers and co-parents.

The provider will be expected to:

• Deliver an equitable service across Best Start Family Hubs in Brent.
• Be embedded within Brent’s mental health service pathway with established referral pathways, governance arrangements and access to wider specialist services
• Provide a specialist parent-infant mental health service reaching across Brent, embedded within established governance, supervision, clinical oversight and quality assurance frameworks, and have direct access to Local CAMHS and perinatal mental health teams
• This service should be:

o led by a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist.

o delivering specialist evidence-based, trauma-informed and attachment-focused parent–infant relationship assessment and intervention (including parent-infant psychotherapy) for the most vulnerable babies and parent-infant relationships.

o comprising highly skilled mental health clinicians (e.g. meeting Level 3 requirements of the Association of Infant Mental Health-UK, Infant Mental Health Competency Framework).

• Have a strong understanding of Brent’s population needs, local networks and early years’ service landscape, and strongly integrate working with Health Visiting and Social Care teams.
• Demonstrate compliance with safeguarding, clinical governance, information governance and quality assurance requirements.
• Provide qualified practitioners to lead the service and ensure those delivering the service maintain relevant competencies and continuing professional development.
• Operate effective data collection, reporting and performance monitoring systems.
• Attend quarterly contract monitoring meetings and submit regular KPI reports ahead of quarterly meetings.
• Maintain effective risk management processes and participate in audits and quality assurance reviews.
• Ensure clear communication with parents, commissioners and partner organisations.
• Manage a robust follow-up system
• Demonstrate the ability to meet equality duties, reduce health inequalities and provide accessible information for families whose first language is not English or who have additional communication needs.

This market engagement exercise is intended to inform the procurement approach and service design. It does not constitute the commencement of a procurement process or a commitment by Brent Council to award a contract.