Awarded· 25 Jul 2025
Suffolk Night Owls
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board · Ipswich, East of England
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has awarded Suffolk Night Owls. It is a contract for other health and social care in Ipswich.
Source: Find a Tender, published 7 Oct 2025. Details are refreshed every 30 minutes.
Key dates
2025
Contract awarded
Suffolk Mind
2025
Award notice published
Award Notice · 15:10
View notice
About this tender
In brief
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has awarded Suffolk Night Owls. It is a contract for other health and social care in Ipswich. The contract went to Suffolk Mind. It was awarded on 25 July 2025. The contract value is £177,092.
It is run as an award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. Find a Tender published it on 7 October 2025. The notice number is 063000-2025. The OCDS ID is ocds-h6vhtk-05a9da.
Summary of the contracting process
The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has completed the procurement process for the "Suffolk Night Owls" service, categorised under health services. This service entails a local emotional support helpline operating every night for registered users with complex needs, from Suffolk regions. The procurement was conducted under the Health Care Services Provider Selection Regime Regulations 2023 via a direct award procedure, without prior competition.
The contract, valued at £177,092, was formally awarded on 26th July 2025 to the existing provider, Suffolk Mind, starting from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027, ensuring continuity of service. Organisations specialising in telehealth, mental health support, and crisis intervention would find this contract pertinent. SMEs with expertise in these areas, and a strong capacity for call handling and follow-up services, can leverage similar future tenders for business growth.
The notice in full
A local 7 nights a week emotional support helpline for registered service users including via text and email for registered people with complex needs. This includes those with a diagnosis of Personality Disorder or who present with behaviours typical of such conditions. The service responds to requests to callbacks offering booked and timed appointments in-bound and outbound calls, and registered users can email and text.
A twenty-minute slot is allocated and where necessary the helpline staff will make onward professional referrals/contacts including safeguarding.
- The service runs 7 nights a week from 6.30pm - 1.00am with calls being taken between 7.00pm and 1.00am.
- The services offer time limited number of calls of approximately 20 minutes to offer support but with boundaries required for people with complex needs.
- There are approximately 1300 people registered with 770 having not accessed the service to date with approx. 80 regular people in contact with the service. Some are in daily contact through to those with monthly contact.
- The calls are RAG rated with the majority being amber rated, with a few being red rated.
- Staff training includes Helpline Training; Suicide prevention; Risk Assessment and Management; Safeguarding; KUF and MHFA.
Lots (1)
- 01
Lot 1Cancelled
The SNO service consists of two trained helpline staff working from 6.30pm to 1.00am manning the incoming calls, ansaphone, emails and texts throughout the night. RAG rating and prioritising calls. - The staff on the helpline shall:
- Support the client with their immediate crisis and assist them to develop strategies to deal with life events and gain insight regarding their mental wellbeing.
- Suggest techniques for reducing anxiety and negative thoughts.
- Focus on keeping the client safe and encouraging them to develop self-help strategies and resilience.
- Signpost to the relevant service if deemed necessary when the call is ending, and the caller has not been de-escalated.
- Call in the emergency services if required.
The NHS Contract Variation will last one year from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027 The current service expires on 31st March 2026, and this will provide continuity of care for the registered clients. Recommissioning will be considered based on the findings of the full crisis alternatives review across the new cluster of ICBs with Suffolk and Norfolk and Waveney ICBs.
No extension has been planned for this service this single year contract constitutes less than 25% of the total lifetime value of the SNO service (since 2019). Procurement to insert - NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice.
The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time.
Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
Key facts
Contract
- Service
- Other
- Procurement type
- Standard
- Category
- Services
- Contract period
- Not specified - Not specified
- Lots
- 1
- Awarded to
- Suffolk Mind
- Number of suppliers
- 1
Procedure
- Notice type
- Award Notice
- Procurement method
- Limited
- Procedure
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Current stage
- Award
- Stages so far
- Award
- Published on
- Find a Tender Service
- Awardee scale
- SME
- Buyer's portal
- In-Tend
Values
- Contracts value
- £177,092
Not stated in the notice: tender value, lots value, awards value.
Status
- Tender
- Complete
- Lots
- Cancelled
- Awards
- Active
- Contracts
- Active
References
- Find a Tender notice
- 063000-2025
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-05a9da
- CPV code
- 85100000 - Health services
- CPV division
- 85 - Health and social work services
Location
- Local authority
- Ipswich
- Town
- Ipswich
- Postcode
- IP1 2BX
- Electoral ward
- Gipping
- Constituency
- Ipswich
- Delivery area
- Suffolk CC
- Region
- East of England
- Sub-region
- Ipswich
- Area
- Suffolk
- Country
- England
Buyer and supplier
Contracting authority
- Organisation
- NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board
- Category
- Services
- Contact
- Caryn Akers
- Address
- Ipswich, IP1 2BX · East of England · England
Not stated in the notice: phone.
Awarded supplier
- Supplier
- Suffolk Mind
- Awardee scale
- SME
- Number of suppliers
- 1
- Awards value
- Not stated
- Company record
- Search Companies House
Documents and links
Questions about Suffolk Night Owls
Who won the Suffolk Night Owls contract?
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board awarded the contract to Suffolk Mind on 25 July 2025.
How much is the Suffolk Night Owls contract worth?
The contract value is £177,092.
Who is the buyer for Suffolk Night Owls?
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, based in Ipswich, East of England. The named contact is Caryn Akers.
Get ready for the next round
Contracts like this come back. We help care providers build the evidence, policies and case studies a buyer scores, so you are ready when the re-tender opens.
What to do next
- This contract has been awarded.
- A re-tender usually follows near the end.
- Build your evidence and case studies now.
- Keep your policies and training records current.
Bidding for contracts like this
Other tenders in Ipswich
- Specialist Medicines ServiceIpswich
- Primary Dental ServicesIpswich
- Countywide Discharge to Assess - bed based residential/nursing servicesIpswich
- Intensive Therapeutic Service for Families with AdolescentsIpswich
- Healthy Together Peer Led SMI SupportIpswich
- Level 2B neuro rehabilitation bedsIpswich
- ESNEFT - Acute ContractIpswich
- Contract between Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE) ICB as lead Commissioner and West Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust (WSFT) for the provision of Acute servicesIpswich
Browse by sector
- All open health and social care tendersThe full feed, updated every 30 minutes.
- Tender sectors we coverWhat each sector buys and how bids are scored.
- Supported living tendersSupport for adults in their own tenancies.
- Extra care tendersHousing with care staff on site.
- Reablement tendersShort-term help to regain everyday skills.
- Residential care and care home tendersCare home and nursing home beds.
- Domiciliary care tendersCare visits in people's own homes.
- Children and young people tendersChildren's homes, placements and short breaks.
Get help with your bid
- Health and social care tender writingWe write and review your bid.
- Guidance on managing a bidPlan a bid from notice to submission.
- Providers we have helped win contractsContracts our clients have won.
- What the Procurement Act 2023 changes for care tenders
- Book a consultation about this tenderTalk this tender through with us.