Interim provider for Riverside Tier 4 General Adolescent inpatient and day service located in Bristol

NHS England South West hub is the commissioner of all Tier 4 provision within the region, including the Riverside Tier 4 service located on the Blackberry Hill site in Bristol. The unit currently operates as an 8 bed inpatient service admitting young people (male and female) and offers day service placements for up to 12 individuals depending on unit mix and staffing levels.

This service is commissioned on behalf of all English patients. In addition the service is the nominated Access Assessing unit under the National Access Protocol for admissions into CAMHS Tier 4 specifically for young people (YP) from the Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset CCG catchment area.

The aforementioned commissioner has an urgent need to commission continuing provision of this Tier 4 service, with the current service provided by North Bristol NHS Trust due to cease on March 31st 2016. The commissioner is seeking an interim provider to take control of the service on an ‘as is’ basis for an initial 1 year period, subject to the completion of a successful substantive re-commissioning process that will see a new long-term provider appointed from 1st April 2017.

Please note that to be eligible to bid for this interim service you must be a current provider of Tier 4 CAMHS services. This approach is in line with similar previously commissioned services, and recognises both the rapid need to transition the service and the national tendering process that is on-going for Tier 4 CAMHS.

Due to the urgent requirement for an interim provider, the commissioner will be conducting a tender process in order to rapidly but safely award the service, with further details available upon expressing interest in this advert. The commissioner anticipates identifying a preferred bidder for the service in late October 2015.

The Commissioner is seeking an interim provider for an initial term of 1 year, from April 2016 to March 2017. From 1st April 2016 we would be expecting the unit to be operating at the full 9 bed capacity as well as the day patient activity.

In recognition of the complex nature of the services, the Commissioner also reserves the right to extend the service for any period(s) up to a maximum of a further 12 months. Those wishing to express interest in the opportunity should note that tender documentation will be available to them through the In-Tend system immediately upon expressing interest, and that the closing date for expressing interest will be the same as the closing date for submitting tenders.

The closing date for the submission of tenders is midday on 5th October 2015. To formally express interest in the interim provision of the service, and receive full details, please respond through the In-Tend portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/