Community health services

Tender description

The Trust is seeking to establish in SW London two crisis / recovery cafes for local residents with mental health needs offering peer-led counselling and support; a café style environment offering drinks and food. South West London Mental Health Trust will provide inreach support via Home Treatment Teams. It is envisaged the premises would be open 18:00 to 23:00 weekdays, and midday to 23:00 at weekends. This is a notice for social and specific services in accordance with Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council Article 74. The Trust wants to sub-contract with suitable third sector partners to provide an accessible, non-stigmatising and recovery focused service that can sit alongside the clinical Services offered by the Trust. Consideration will be given bidders who wish to provide only 1 or 2 cafes. The Crisis/ Recovery Cafés will offer a welcoming, safe, friendly, non-stigmatising environment. They will support people in a mental health crisis and help them discuss the nature of the crisis they are experiencing, their strengths and coping skills the person might use to decrease their distress and promote their well-being. The environment must be designed so that customers are likely to feel safe and not overwhelmed by excessive stimuli (e.g. television or radio/music). The Service will be staffed to support up to 25 customers at any one time, and will provide a safe and secure environment to support them through a range of support and leisure opportunities: —A welcoming environment — particularly for first time customers —Emotional support and resilience building —Peer-led support —A range of recreational and leisure activities —Access to a range of non-alcoholic hot and cold drinks, hot and cold snacks and/or hot food Access to local resource directories and advice/signposting to access Services —Risk assessment/management and active liaison with statutory Services, particularly Home Treatment Teams, when clinical risk requires —Opportunities for customers who use the Service to graduate into volunteer and paid roles. The Service is expected to be open from 18:00-23:00 (Monday-Friday) and 12:00-23:00 (weekends and bank holidays). The Service will be open every day of the year. Part of being non-stigmatising is for the Service to become an integral part of the local community, with effective links to local third sector and community groups, and to key statutory Services (e.g. the Trust, police, ambulance Service, acute trusts). This non-stigmatising environment will manifest in the Service being perceived as accessible, and will be evidenced by usage figures for the Service, both in terms of total customer attendances, and number of distinct customers using the Service. The Service needs to offer a positive experience for those who use it, and will be expected to collect data on customer experience and outcomes for customers who use the Service to demonstrate its effectiveness. Whilst the Service will be open to those who perceive themselves in crisis, it will be expected to maintain a flow through the Service, and thus to have strategies for some customers who may become overly dependent on the Service The Crisis Recovery/ Cafés will be provided within the five London boroughs of the Trust (Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth). The Crisis Recovery/ Cafés must be accessible and welcoming environment which erodes stigma related to mental health — it will operate from an accessible ‘street-front’ location, be well apportioned and furnished, a café based premise and be easily accessible via public transport. Consideration will be given to maximising access for the whole south west London population, through the location of the two Crisis/ Recovery Cafés. This includes location with respect to population hubs, transport networks and areas of high need. Where the locations for proposed Crisis/ Recovery Cafés are in close proximity to each other, the Trust considers that this will have an impact on overall access impact, and will reflect this consideration in its assessment of bids. The facility/ Service will be Equality Act compliant.