Health and social work services

Tender description

This notice has been issued to give the market prior notice of NHS Birmingham Cross City CCGs intention to start a procurement process for Counselling Services on 24.5.2016. A brief description of the scope for this service is as follows: Aims and objectives of service: — To provide a primary care counselling service to individuals experiencing emotional or psychological distress for whom counselling is the appropriate intervention; — To offer a choice of approaches to meet the required outcomes of the client; — To provide quality services and positive outcomes; — Improve the mental health and well-being of the community; — Promote preventative and recovery interventions; — Reduce stigma towards mental illness; — Work in partnership with general practice, primary care and community clinicians to deliver a seamless transition through the primary care and community pathway; — Work in partnership with local Improving Access to Psychological Therapy Services, managing clients who do not meet caseness. Service description/care pathway: This service is available to Clients registered with a Birmingham Cross-city Clinical Commissioning Group GP aged 18+ or older on the day of referral. Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by qualified practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their well-being. Counselling services are accessible for people who may be distressed in connection with current or past life challenges and may experience depression, stress or anxiety symptoms. In this context it is expected that interventions will be short-time, time-limited to an average of 6 sessions. Interventions can be delivered either face to face, through group work, over the telephone and/or online. Information relating to current and anticipated indicative activity can be found as an attachment within the Bravo eProcurement portal. Please see instruction in Section II.8) below in regards to accessing the Bravo eProcurement portal. Days/hours of operation: ‘Monday-Friday (between 10:00-15:00). Saturday (between 10:00-14:00).’ ‘The times shown are indicative and all service providers are expected to offer access outside of working hours that meets the needs of the local population’. The service will: — Provide time-limited focussed counselling sessions per client (based on an average of 6 sessions (based on face to face interventions), however, this will be confirmed at assessment stage and reviewed on an ongoing basis between the counsellor and client); — Undertake an assessment to ascertain the nature/history of the problem and suitability for counselling intervention; — Understand and ascertain the clients motivation for engagement in purposeful intervention; — Work closely with other primary care services; — Undertake appropriate risk assessment for each referral; — Will use a range of approaches to service delivery including telephone access, online and group based activity. Approaches for delivery: Indicatively commissioners would expect counsellors practice to be informed by a range of modalities which may include the following: — Integrative therapy (brings together elements of different therapies to suit individual client need); — Person-centred therapy (focuses on the way in which individuals perceive themselves); — Behavioural therapies (focusing on thoughts and behaviours); — Psychoanalytical and psycho-dynamic therapies (focussing on relationship patterns evolved from childhood); — Humanistic therapies (focussing on the ‘here and now’). The providers of the services will be: — Fully qualified; possessing an accredited qualification (s). (Accredited courses tend to be diplomas, advanced diplomas, post-graduate trainings and bachelors or masters degrees. They are sometimes science-based in title because of a research or clinical element (e.g. MSc in Clinical Counselling) but are more commonly arts-based qualifications. A nationally recognised counselling qualification at diploma/degree level or working towards final accreditation. — Registered with an appropriate professional counselling body, maintaining membership of a professional counselling body; such as British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) or United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and will abide by its code of practice. — Qualified staff must be named on a professional register. — Receive adequate regular clinical supervision by a suitably qualified counsellor/psychotherapist. — Able to evidence past working experience. — Providers should be able to evidence that their workforce adheres to the above upon request. — Able to use the support of trainees and volunteers. The range of issues that clients may require support with (but not limited to): — Depression, — Low mood, — Abuse, — Addiction, — Anger problems, — Anxiety, — Bereavement, — Bullying or harassment, — Culturally specific issues, — Domestic violence, — Family issues, — Financial problems, — Long-term physical problems or disability, — Loss of self-esteem, — Problems at work, — Relationship issues, — Sleep problems, — Stress. Referrals: Referrals will be received from a range of organisations including: — Self-referral, — GP referral (using an agreed standardised referral from), — Local third sector providers, — Local IAPT services, — Local job centres. A current Draft specification and other detail relating to this potential opportunity has been made available for providers to access via the Bravo eProcurement system. Details of how to access this information has been included in the additional information section of this notice. Please note that all documentation at this stage is draft and subject to change.