2223-0314 North Central London Support-after-Suicide Service

On behalf of the Departments of Public Health of the five boroughs of the North Central London (NCL) integrated care partnership (Camden, Islington, Haringey, Barnet and Enfield), Islington Council invites suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for a service to provide emotional and practical support for those bereaved or otherwise impacted by a death by suicide. The service will be provided across all five NCL boroughs. Current status / Background Each death by suicide has profound, wide-ranging, intergenerational, economic and emotional consequences for those directly bereaved, for those impacted and for a society as a whole. A dedicated support service to provide support after suicide has been in place in NCL since October 2020, in line with the national suicide prevention transformation programme which has recognised this area as a priority. Identifying those affected by suicide has been supported by the development of the Thrive London Real Time Surveillance System (RTSS) for suspected suicides. The requirement The aim of the service is to support those bereaved by suicide to face the immediate, acute, disorientating and painful experience of the first weeks and months after a suicide. The service also aims to support those otherwise affected by suicide including those bereaved in the past, and impacted individuals, groups or communities, in partnership with local agencies and community groups. The service will be available to anyone affected by a suicide who lives, works or volunteers in the boroughs, and to anyone affected by a suicide that occurs within the five boroughs, regardless of the potential service user’s location. We expect the service to offer individual support, group-based and community-based support. At a minimum, we require a service to provide: • Pro-active contact and offer of support to those referred and who self-refer • Provision of verbal and written information • An assessment of need from a qualified person • One-to-one emotional support with flexible contact options • Support with the practical tasks and impacts of bereavement by suicide, such as dealing with the police, funeral arrangements or visiting the place of death as well as accessing legal advice or financial support • Advocacy and liaison support, such as offering to accompany clients at inquests, dealing with the media, advocating for clients by speaking to professionals or statutory agencies on their behalf • Signposting and/or referral on to other support services, such as housing, employment support, mental health services, GPs, or other bereavement or peer support, where appropriate Full details of the service requirements are available in the service specification. Lots The contract is not split into lots. The service needs to be skilled and holistic. There is a balance between the requirement for local liaison and the need for expertise, and operational sustainability that would not be possible within a very small service. The move to more flexible service delivery options since Covid (whilst maintaining face-to-face options) has suited clients of the service and made this model effective across the geography of the five boroughs. TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations] Potential providers must be aware that TUPE may or may not apply to this service. Further details will be available in the invitation to tender. Contract Period The contract period will be for 24 months from an estimated start date of 1 October 2023 with three further options to extend for up to 12 months each (maximum 60 months). Contract Value The estimated total value of this contract is £825,000 over the maximum 60-month term of the contract. This is based on £165,000 per annum. However, the Council on behalf of the NCL boroughs is confident the bids received will be lower than the estimated value. Award criteria The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations. MEAT for this contract is quality 90% and cost 10%. Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender. Quality 90% Cost 10% Quality made up of: Proposed approach to service provision 30% Proposed approach to service access 15% Proposed approach to social value 15% Proposed mobilisation and implementation plan 10% Proposed approach to ensuring the close involvement of people with lived experience of suicide bereavement 10% Proposed approach to quality assurance and improvement 10% Total 100% Procurement Process This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The procurement is subject to the light-touch regime under Section 7 Social and Other Specific Services. Under Regulation 76 the Council is free to establish a procedure, provided that procedure is sufficient to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators (service providers). This procedure is based on the open procedure. All economic operators (service providers) who successfully express an interest will automatically be invited to tender and have access to the tender documents. Those who submit a tender and meet the minimum requirements will have their full tender, method statements and pricing evaluated.