Provision of Individual Placement and Support Service for NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>The aim of this service is to deliver an individual placement and support employment service for people with severe mental health issues, based in secondary mental health teams and primary care, across Norfolk and Waveney ICS.<br/><br/>The employment specialist will work in close collaboration with clinical staff. They will also work with employers to seek employment opportunities for individuals and with any individuals who express an interest in employment to achieve an employment outcome.<br/><br/>The service will deploy Employment Specialists (ES's) into the secondary mental health teams. ES's will also work with (and be integrated to) Primary Care Networks, as part of the Community Transformation Programme. The ES's will provide employment support in line with the principles of Individual Placement and Support (IPS).<br/><br/>IPS has been identified by both DWP and NHS England as a promising intervention to address unemployment within mental health. IPS is a replicable, evidence-based, supported employment programme that has been shown to deliver superior employment and health outcomes for people with severe mental health problems.<br/><br/>The IPS approach is based on eight key principles:<br/><br/>1. It aims to get people into competitive employment<br/>2. It is open to all those who want to work<br/>3. It tries to find jobs consistent with people's preferences<br/>4. It works quickly<br/>5. It brings employment specialists into clinical teams<br/>6. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based upon a person's work preferences<br/>7. It provides time unlimited, individualised support for the person and their employer<br/>8. Benefits counselling is included. Additional information: This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.<br/><br/>This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.'<br/><br/>If you have wish to make a written representation regarding this intention to award notice please contact nwicb.enquiries@nhs.net.<br/><br/>The intention to award decision was made by the ICB Steering Group 8th January 2025<br/><br/>There were no declared conflicts identified during in relation to this process.<br/><br/>The Key Criteria weighting for this services was as follows:<br/><br/>Quality & Innovation - 50%<br/>Value - Pass/Fail<br/>Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - 20%<br/>Improving Access, Reducing - 20%<br/>Social Value - 10%<br/><br/>The rationale for awarding to the preferred provider was that they have passed all pass/fail questions in the basic selection questionnaire and ranked as the highest scoring provider based on their overall Key Criteria score within this Provider Selection Process.