Official UK procurement notice
Mental Health Community Step Down Facility
Authority: NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (the Commissioner) is publishing this notice to inform the market of its intention to follow the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) process for the award of a contract for a Mental Health Community Step-Down Facility.
The service will provide a 9-bed, community-based step-down facility for adults with severe mental health needs who are ready for discharge from acute inpatient services and require further assessment and support in a non-hospital setting.
The Commissioner has a strong preference for providers that can demonstrate their ability to fully mobilise the service within twelve weeks of contract award. Providers should be able to evidence a credible mobilisation plan, including arrangements for premises, workforce, governance, and operational infrastructure necessary to deliver the service from the contract commencement date.
Providers who believe they are capable of delivering this service are invited to express their interest within 14 days of publication of this notice. The Commissioner will not begin identifying or assessing potential providers until after this period, in accordance with the Provider Selection Regime
The contract duration is 12-months with an optional extension of a further 12-months. The anticipated service commencement date is January 2027.
The contract value for the initial 12-month contract is £1,000,000 and the total contract value including the optional 12-month extension period is £2,000,000 excluding VAT
This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.
CPV: Community health services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (the Commissioner) is publishing this notice…Planned
NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (the Commissioner) is publishing this notice to inform the market of its intention to follow the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) process in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) for the award of a contract for a Mental Health Community Step-Down Facility.
The service will provide a 9-bed community-based step-down facility for adults (18+) with severe mental health needs who are ready for discharge from acute inpatient services but require a period of further assessment and support in a non-hospital setting.
The service aims to:
- Facilitate timely discharge from acute mental health services
- Reduce delayed discharges and inpatient length of stay
- Support transition to independent or supported community living
- Promote recovery, independence and social inclusion
- Deliver care in the least restrictive environment
The service will include:
- Self-contained accommodation within Kent and Medway
- 24-hour on-site staffing and support
- A recovery-focused model of care
- Integrated working with NHS, local authority, and community partners
- A typical length of stay of approximately 14-16 weeks
The anticipated contract start date is January 2027. The Initial contract duration is 12 months with the option to extend up to a further 12 months.
The contract value for the initial 12-month contract is £1,000,000 and the total contract value including the optional 12-month extension period is £2,000,000 excluding VAT
TUPE is unlikely to apply to this procurement.
This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD buys Social services (CPV 8532), and who usually turns up
NHS KENT AND MEDWAY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Social services (CPV 8532) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in South East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 37 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid36% / 19%
2–336% / 33%
4–618% / 33%
7+9% / 15%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate30% / 39%
Within ±2%50% / 61%
Above estimate20% / 0%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (the Commissioner) is publishing this notice…CPV 8532Published estimate£2.0m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 27 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid19%
2–333%
4–633%
7+15%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 Aug 2026, 10:55 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Aug 2026, 10:55 BST
- Authority reference
C464693- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-077569- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e45bFind a Tender
Publisher note: The Commissioner will assess providers in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Provider Selection Regime using the Basic Selection Criteria and the following Key Criteria: • Quality and Innovation • Value • Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability • Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice • Social Value Assessment will be proportionate to the nature of the service. Providers may be asked to provide clarification or limited supporting information where reasonably required. Full details of the assessment approach will be available within the procurement documentation. Interested providers will be able to view this opportunity via the live opportunities list on the 'Health Family' e-procurement system, Atamis. Click on 'View our Live Opportunities' from the home page, available on the following link: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. The project reference is C464693 Once you have found the opportunity (via the search function, using the title or reference number), to gain full access to the relevant information, you will need to click on 'Register interest' - this will take you to the log-in page. If you are not already registered on the system, you will need to do so before gaining full access to the documentation and to be able to submit your expression of interest.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
14 Aug 2026 → 10 Oct 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published69 days ago14 Aug 2026, 10:55 BST
- Tender notice expected12 days ago10 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.