Specialist Bereavement Services · UK public procurement notice

Kent County Council (KCC), in partnership with Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), are looking for an organisation or consortium of organisations to deliver new evidence-based bereavement support services for Kent and Medway residents.

These services will need to be underpinned by Trauma Informed Approaches with the overarching aim of supporting individuals (who are experiencing high levels of distress and grief) by helping them to manage the impact of their bereavement and reduce the risk factors associated with this. These services will provide specialist support and should complement existing voluntary sector bereavement services. This opportunity covers the whole of Kent and Medway and will be broken down into lots:

• Lot 1 - Specialist Bereavement Service for under 25-year-olds
• Lot 2 - A Support Service for People Bereaved by Suicide

KCC is looking for an organisation(s) that have a track record of successfully delivering similar services and have a detailed understanding of the specific needs of people under 25 years old and/or affected by suicide. Organisations can bid for individual lots or both depending on experience and capabilities.

Lot 1 - Specialist Bereavement Service for under 25-year-olds

The service will deliver evidence-based specialist counselling to those from pre-school age (3 ½) to 25 years old who are experiencing complex grief. The interventions will be age appropriate. Delivery of these sessions will be via trained Counsellors with experience in bereavement, delivered in venues suitable for the service user, such as school and youth clubs. Providers can utilise a blended approach of face to face and remote delivery depending on individual needs and relevant government guidelines in relation to the Coronavirus. Referrals into the service will be open access.

Lot 2 - A Support Service for People Bereaved by Suicide (all ages)

The service will help people who have been bereaved by suicide. There will be three main cohorts of people that the service needs to support:

1. Close family members of the individual who died
2. Friends, colleagues, witnesses, and other people affected by a suicide
3. People who are working to support, or who are spending time with, people bereaved by suicide

Each cohort will require a different response and it is anticipated that most resource will be allocated to cohort 1.

The service will need to provide a personal/family centred and practical based support. Referrals into the service will be open access but the main referral route will be via a formal pathway between Kent Police, the Kent Coroner Service, Kent and Medway Public Health Teams and the new service provider.

It is the Council’s intention to award the contract for an initial period of three years (36 months) with the potential to extend for a further two years in twelve-month extensions (subject to funding). The contract will commence early summer of 2021, following a mobilisation period. The maximum contract value is broken down as:

• Lot 1 - £125,000 per year plus an addition £50,000 a year flexible funding pot which can be utilised throughout the contract term.
• Lot 2 - £125,000 per year for a support service for people bereaved by suicide