Newcastle City Council

Provision of specialist intervention service for parents experiencing mild to moderate perinatal mental health difficulties and problems with attachment and bonding with their baby

The Integrated 0-19 Healthy Child Programme (HCP) is a prevention and early intervention public health programme providing a universal service for children, young people, and famil

```json { "overview": "This is a re-opening of a mental health support framework offering three separate service areas: Life Skills support, Crisis support, and Rehabilitation/Recovery services. The council wants experienced providers to help people with mental health needs live independently, manage crises, and recover—tailoring support to each person's specific situation rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.", "requirements": [ "Must be able to deliver support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (for Crisis support lot)", "Must employ suitably experienced and qualified staff for the duration of the contract", "Must work collaboratively with Multidisciplinary Team members and other providers if the person is receiving concurrent support", "Must deliver person-centred, flexible support adapted to individual needs rather than following a fixed list of interventions", "Must work in a trauma-informed, strength-based approach (for Rehabilitation/Recovery lot)", "Must involve the person in safeguarding processes except in exceptional situations", "Must be able to work alongside health Crisis Team and other agencies (DWP, housing, social care services)", "Must agree to staff working together with other providers' staff for the term of the agreement", "Must have culturally sensitive practice to overcome barriers to mainstream services", "No specific formal qualifications listed in this notice—check full tender documents for detailed staffing requirements" ], "key_tasks": [ "Teach independent living skills: help people manage phone calls, correspondence, appointments, form-filling, housekeeping, laundry, and shopping", "Support meal preparation and cooking with healthy food choices and food safety", "Help people develop and maintain personal hygiene routines", "Co-create Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) documents identifying early warning signs of relapse and preferred crisis responses", "Teach mental wellbeing strategies including mindfulness, grounding techniques, sleep hygiene, and medication management", "Provide budgeting and financial management support to help people live within their means", "Support tenancy management including rent payment and adhering to tenancy conditions", "Help people claim and access eligible benefits and liaise with benefit agencies", "Develop social skills training including communication, conflict management, and anger management", "Combat social isolation by helping people build social contacts and peer support networks", "Teach positive relationship skills for friendships, romantic, sexual, professional, and family relationships", "Provide travel training to build confidence using public transport", "Support access to other services and mainstream agencies in a coordinated way", "Encourage and support employment, education, training, or volunteering pathways (with referral to Work & Thrive Newcastle for employment support)", "Support engagement in leisure and community activities", "Provide reactive intensive crisis support with immediate risk reduction, problem-solving, and action planning", "Conduct regular welfare checks (doorstep or telephone) during crisis periods with agreed escalation procedures for non-response", "Build therapeutic relationships and provide emotional support (listening, empathy, belief, respect)", "Re-establish routines and help people set achievable goals", "Co-develop positive behaviour support plans identifying triggers and enabling positive risk-taking", "Support medication management routines", "Provide in-reach wraparound support for people transitioning from hospital or other services" ], "how_to_read": [ "This is a re-opening of an existing framework, not a new contract—this means the council has done this before, so look at the previous contract (Notice 014142-2025 referenced above) to see what worked and what didn't; this gives you competitive advantage if you can review what the incumbent did well or poorly.", "There are three separate 'Lots' you can bid for: Life Skills (Lot 1), Crisis Support (Lot 2), and Rehabilitation/Recovery (Lot 3)—you don't have to bid for all three, and you can bid for just one if that matches your expertise; think carefully about which lot(s) fit your current services.", "The word 'person-centred' appears repeatedly—the council is explicitly saying they don't want rigid, box-ticking support; they want flexible, individualized responses; your bid must show you listen to individuals and adapt, not deliver the same package to everyone.", "Crisis support (Lot 2) is the most demanding: it requires 24/7 availability, 365 days a year; this is genuinely round-the-clock work, so only bid if you can genuinely staff this or can partner with someone who can; it's also the highest-risk lot because people in crisis are vulnerable.", "The council mentions working 'alongside' other providers and the health Crisis Team—they're describing a coordinated ecosystem, not a solo operation; read the full tender documents carefully for how handover, data-sharing, and communication protocols will work; this is where many contracts fail due to poor inter-agency coordination.", "Watch for the distinction between 'Life Skills' (Lot 1) and 'Rehabilitation/Recovery' (Lot 3): Lot 1 is practical day-to-day support; Lot 3 adds trauma-informed therapy