Procurement for the provision of Children & Young Persons Phoenix Service for NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board

NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB) intends to award a contract to Barnardo Service Limited to deliver a Children's and Young People Phoenix Service to NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board.

This will cover Children and young people aged 0-18 years, who are living in Somerset or who have a registered Somerset GP.

The service will focus on providing support for CYP aged 0-18 years who have experienced CSA, including those who may fall outside the threshold for admission to specialist mental health services and/or other specialist services. The service will work collaboratively with specialist services to ensure comprehensive support and continuity of care for these individuals.

Service Objectives:

• To deliver age-appropriate, high-quality and effective services for CYP, their families and carers addressing the psychological and emotional impact of CSA as early as possible.
• To provide individualised support focused on the unique needs and contexts of each C/YP ensuring services are tailored to their presenting issues.
• To empower CYP and their families to move forward positively in their lives by promoting resilience and recovery rather than focusing solely on the events of the abuse.
• To minimise the long-term negative impact of CSA on the mental health, emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life for CYP and their families in Somerset.

The service will:

• Deliver a range of effective and evidence-based advice, information, talking, therapeutic and creative interventions.
• Deliver a consistent and timely support service to the multi-agency workforce working to support children who have experienced sexual abuse, enabling staff from other services to safely and effectively 'identify, hold and respond'.
• Provide appropriately trained staff who have an expertise in engaging and building relationships with CYP and their families and have the skills to assess and understand the barriers CYP may face, involving other agencies and professionals as appropriate.
• Provide staff who are friendly, well-trained professionals, capable of offering advice, counselling and other appropriate interventions to support CYP.
• Be offered in a safe, comfortable, confidential and non-judgemental environment.
• Develop and maintain effective and efficient local and national networks to build a holistic, integrated and seamless package of support for CYP, their families and carers.

The service will ensure that CYP receive high-quality support, measured and evaluated using agreed age-related, evidence-based outcome tools, resulting in:

• Increased ability to express feelings and make sense of their experiences.
• Improved mental health and emotional wellbeing.
• Reduction in levels of depression, self-harm, injury and intent.
• Decreased suicidal ideation and thoughts.
• Decreased re-victimisation.
• Reduction in drug or alcohol use.
• Improved confidence and self-esteem.
• Improved relationships, including feeling safe and secure.
• Improved physical health, such as better sleeping patterns, diet, exercise, dental hygiene and positive sexual behaviour.
• Increased ability to cope at home, in education and to participate in age-appropriate activities.

The contract term will be for 6 years with an optional extension of any period up to a further 2 years.

The contract value is £380,436 per annum giving a contract value of £2,282,616 for the initial contract period and £3,043,488 if the full extension period is adopted.

The new service will commence on the 1st October 2025

Commissioners reserve the right to add funding to the contract over its duration to accommodate service development measures or initiatives, up to an equivalent value of the original contract. For the avoidance of doubt, this would mean an annual contract value of, for example, £500k per annum and a consequent increase in the overall contract value.

This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.