NHSWYICB - Here for You Wakefield

The Contract Authority; NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board intends to award a contract to an existing provider following Direct Award Process C. The authority is publishing this notice in Find a Tender in accordance with the NHS Provider Selection Regime.<br/><br/>Contract Period: 01/04/2027 - 31/03/2030 with an option to extend for 2 Years<br/><br/>Contract Value: £4,850,580. Additional information: The Record of Decision Making created at the time of the decision confirms that the service:<br/>• is an existing service;<br/>• is delivered by an existing provider Touchstone-Leeds;<br/>• is replacing a contract that is due to expire; and<br/>• is therefore eligible in principle for Direct Award Process C.<br/>The Record also identifies the named decision maker, senior approving bodies, contract value and term, and confirms that no conflicts of interest were declared. This document evidences that the decision was taken consciously and contemporaneously within the PSR framework, rather than by default or assumption.<br/><br/>The Here For You Wakefield specification demonstrates that the proposed contract does not introduce considerable change when compared with the existing arrangements across the following aspects:<br/>• the service model remains an integrated pathway within crisis mental health;<br/>• the population, geography, referral routes and eligibility criteria are unchanged;<br/>• delivery remains with the same incumbent provider, using the same delivery model;<br/>• there is no reconfiguration or transfer of material risk.<br/>The ICB actively reviewed the proposed scope, outcomes, delivery model, and risk profile against the existing contract and concluded that these elements did not meet the PSR “considerable change” threshold. While the specification is presented in an updated format, the underlying service is consistent with the existing contract.<br/>Regulation 6(12) External Factors Exception has been applied to extend the operating hours of the service and resultantly increased the contract price. This change in operational hours is directly attributable to the NHS England requirement to develop a 24/7 mental health crisis pathway. The increase in contract value is therefore directly attributable to national policy changes external to both the commissioner and provider rather than a commissioner-led redesign or expansion of service scope. To confirm, the change is limited to opening hours rather than service scope. The annual value of the contract will increase approximately 35% due to this increase in opening hours. <br/><br/>The Service Review Template – PSR Key Criteria provides detailed, narrative based evidence demonstrating that the existing provider:<br/>• is satisfying the current contract to a sufficient standard; and<br/>• is likely to satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard.<br/>The Service Review assesses performance against all PSR key criteria, including:<br/>• Quality and innovation – evidenced by service outcomes including direct relay from ambulance services and Accident and Emergency diversion. For example, 2025-26 saw referrals for 567 individuals, of which 9% were directly from Yorkshire Ambulance Service.<br/>• Value and stewardship of public funds – demonstrated through<br/>return on investment, efficiency gains, cost effectiveness and system savings due to Accident and Emergency diversion for those experiencing mental health crisis. In 2025-26 direct referrals from Yorkshire Ambulance Service alone were estimated to have saved Emergency departments between £12,500 and £200,000.<br/>• Integration, collaboration, and sustainability – reflected in partnership working across the mental health crisis pathway, alignment with wider pathways, embedded delivery and training development across relevant parts of the system. For example, in 2025-26 Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training was provided to 93 practitioners across Wakefield and Leeds. There were also 1042 occasions on which Here For You service users were signposted to other sources of support/ <br/>• Access, inequalities, and choice – supported by targeted interventions to support frequent users, inclusive or adapted provision and reach into underserved and priority populations through Pathways Development provision. Choice is a key element of Here For You and provision medium service user led; in 2025-26 63% of 1:1 support was provided via telephone and 37% face to face. <br/>• Social value – including<br/>prevention activity, community capacity building, wider economic and social benefits (e.g. Real Living Wage employer, Investors in People Platinum) and intrinsic value of locally rooted, not for profit organisation. Touchstone are also ranked Most Inclusive Charity Employer in the Inclusive Companies Top 50 Employers Awards 2025.<br/>The ICB considered not only historic performance, but also whether the provider’s established workforce, governance arrangements and delivery model provide assurance of continued performance under the proposed contract. The proposed contract does not introduce expanded cohorts or increase shift level demand beyond that already successfully managed by the provider. The provider’s ability to expand operating hours is demonstrated by the strong success in remodelling service provision hours in other areas.<br/><br/>In determining the appropriate procurement route, the ICB considered whether a competitive process would deliver additional benefit. Given the continuity of need, the integration of the service and provider into mental health crisis pathways in Wakefield, the provider’s performance and the risks associated with service disruption, the ICB concluded that a competitive process would not be proportionate to the time, cost and delivery risk involved.<br/>Taken together, the three documents; Record of Decision Making, Service Specification and Service Review Template provide a coherent and auditable justification for the use of Direct Award Process C, demonstrating that:<br/>• the regulatory conditions for Process C are met;<br/>• the decision was taken lawfully, transparently, and proportionately<br/>• the existing provider sufficiently meets the PSR criteria; and<br/>• continuity of a effective and system beneficial service is in the best interests of patients and the wider system.