NHS Talking Therapies (formerly known as IAPT)

NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board are undertaking a procurement process and are inviting suitably qualified and experienced providers to bid for NHS Talking Therapies Services. The procurement is split into Lots: Lot 1: East Kent - approx total contract value £46,400,000 Lot 2 West Kent - approx total contract value £26,600,000 Lot 3 Medway & Swale - approx total contract value £26,800,000 Lot4 Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley - approx total contract value £16,200,000 The anticipated contract duration will be for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend for up to a further 2 years as required.

The service will provide evidence-based psychological therapy treatments for people age 17.5 and over with depression and anxiety disorders, and comorbid long-term physical health conditions (LTCs) or medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) (when integrated with physical healthcare pathways).

Providers are expected to follow the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies manual to implement and deliver effective assessment and treatment. It is the responsibility of the provider to ensure it has the required resources and workforce to meet the key performance indicators and support the range of treatment modalities required as per the IAPT manual. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/the-iapt-manual-v5.pdf Providers are expected to deliver proactive leadership and active collaborative system working to serve the needs of the population and enable people to access the service that best meets their needs.

The provider is required to implement referral pathways that are easy to understand, recognisable and simple to navigate. Services must seek out and activate innovative outreach mechanisms to meet the identified needs of the local population. This must include active case finding methods to reach in to our local communities to ensure that adult psychological therapy services are present, the benefits of treatment are shared in a variety of formats, and information about access is widely distributed.

To access the eProcurement portal to access relevant documentation relating this opportunity, please follow the instructions below: 1. Go to https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome (and click the link to register (If your organisation has not registered previously) 2. Once registered, login into the system and look for 'Quote/tender C117237 - NHS Talking Therapies (formerly known as IAPT) (Kent and Medway)

This Procurement has been advertised in accordance with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) (the "Regulations") to the extent that the Regulations relate to services within the scope of Schedule 3 thereto (Social and Other Specific Services). The Commissioner and AGCSU are, therefore, bound only by those parts of the Regulations applying to Schedule 3 services.