Suicide Bereavement Support Service to Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Associates

Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group on behalf of Buckinghamshire Council, Buckinghamshire CCG, Berkshire West CCG, Frimley CCG, Slough Borough Council, Windsor & Maidenhead Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Council, West Berkshire District Council, Reading Borough Council and Wokingham Borough Council seeks to commission a Suicide Bereavement Support service for the residents of Thames Valley but excluding Milton Keynes.

The provider will offer telephony support that will offer listening, practical and advocacy support to people across the Thames Valley and the BOB ICS footprint, who are experiencing issues that impact on their wellbeing as a result of bereavement by suicide. It will not provide professional counselling services.

The overall aim of this service is to provide both emotional and practical support to families, close friends and colleagues who have been bereaved by suicide or suspected suicide and use onward referrals and signposting for those who require further/enhanced support. This is intended to improve the resilience, functioning and wellbeing of those who have been affected by suicide. The specific aims of this service are: • to reduce the distress experienced by people after a suicide. • to reduce stigma and isolation felt by people bereaved by suicide. • to improve the mental wellbeing of service users enabling them to return to functioning within their day-to-day life. • to reduce demand for mental health and other services. • to reduce risk of suicide in those who have been bereaved/affected by suicide. • to reduce the risk of linked suicides and the emergence of clusters.

The initial contract term will be for 2 years from 1st April 2022, with an optional extension of any period(s) up to a maximum of a further 1 year, as defined and at the discretion of the commissioners.

The financial envelope is £110,500 per annum.

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

Additional information: Interested providers will be able to view this notice via the 'current tenders' list on the e-procurement system In-Tend, available on the following link: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home

In order to submit a bid, you will need to be registered on the e-procurement system and 'express an interest', and then complete a response as specified within the procurement documents.

On registration, please include at least two contacts to allow for access to the system in times of absence.

The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).

The contract value of this procurement is under the Light Touch Regime threshold and therefore the rules of this Regime do not apply.