Parent Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS)

PIN – Parent Infant Relationship Mental Health Service (PIMHS)

Kent County Council (KCC) are anticipating procuring a Parent-Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS)

KCC propose to begin mobilisation of the Service November 2025, with a Service Commencement date of May 2026.

The Service Contract is for 30 months, with a possible extension of 24 months.

Following several successful market engagement events, the Council wishes to share with interested parties revised information and commissioning plans for the PIMH service. Following the reflection and adaption of the previous offer, we are now seeking further views on the revised potential opportunity to ascertain the attractive to the market.

Please note this is not a call for competition.

We are seeking an organisation that can provide and manage a Multidisciplinary team of Clinical psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Specialist Parent-Infant Mental Health Practitioners, Psychotherapists and mixed providers with clinical expertise who can bring a range of skills to help deliver this proposed new and ground breaking service for Kent. This proposed service for Kent will engage families, embedding support and helping them to form healthy relationships with their infant. Please refer to attached specification for more information.

Following market engagement we are sharing with interested parties the following: -

Information slides
Draft service specification
Questions posed at a market engagement event and answers from KCC

A link to a survey to understand your interest in this opportunity –
https://forms.office.com/e/1kvSX4cycV?origin=lprLink
(please paste link into your browser)
Please complete by: 27th May 2025.

About the service;

The proposed service would be made up of:

Overall Clinical Lead for the Multidisciplinary Team - 1 WTE
Specialist Clinical Lead and Clinical Lead to the Operational Team – 1 WTE
Operational Team Specialist Practitioner – 3 WTE (3 WTE from year 2 onwards)
Administrator – Minimum of 1 WTE

The above is an example and the provider may propose, as part of the competitive tender an alternative model based on evidence (this may consist of sessions rather than WTEs). There would be some provision / delivery of level 2 and 3 delivery required in the mobilisation period.

The provider will need to create and maintain a Kent Parent Infant Mental Health website to support parents, families and professionals in Kent. The website will need to provide a range of resources tailored to support both parents, families and professionals.

The Provider will be flexible in the approach to meet the differing needs of our population, including children in?deep poverty as well as neurodivergent parents.? Screening tools such as GAD7 will be utilised to identify need and interventions required.

The proposed service will work as a team supporting families with identified needs who may have been referred by the health visiting service, accredited Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) practitioners and trained baby massage practitioners.

The financial envelope for the Service is £2,043,250 (includes 6 months mobilisation fee)
This is a 4.5 year contract, which includes an optional 2 year extension,

Mobilisation (6 months) November 2025 to end April 2026

Some service provision is required in mobilisation.
£225,390 Includes mobilisation costs (equipment and premises costs) as below:

£138,390 Staffing based on actual recruitment (evidence would be required)
£80,000 Mobilisation
£7,000 Premises

Year 1; 2026/2027
£441,357

Year 2; 2027/2028
£450,127

Year 3; 2028/2029
£458,712

Year 4; 2029/2030
£467,664

Staffing based on actual recruitment (evidence would be required) - £138,390

Mobilisation expectations;

During mobilisation November 2025 – end of April 2026

- In the mobilisation period, it is expected there will be 1 session per week, level 3
(minimum)
- In the mobilisation period, it is expected there will be 2 sessions per week, level 2 (minimum).

From May 2026 (end of mobilisation), the following will be delivered as a minimum:

10 sessions (each session is three hours and three quarters) per week, level 2 after the 6 months mobilisation
3 - 4 sessions per week, level 3 after the 6 months mobilisation.

To access the documents listed below please visit https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/
Search for SC240063 Parent Infant Mental Health (PIMHS)

Parent Infant Mental Health Overview Slides
Market Questions and KCC Answers
DRAFT: Parent Infant Mental Health Specification.