Health and social work services

Tender description

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) are seeking suitable providers for the provision of adult mental health services. The services will be delivered across multiple lots as follows: Lot 1: Community Advocacy; Lot 2: Welfare Advice Service; Lot 3: Connecting with Nature; Lot 4: Taster Activity Sessions; Lot 5: Mental Health and Creative Arts; Lot 6: Road to Well-Being Physco-Educational Groups. The services are targeted at adults with a functional mental health need who live in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen and are known to the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) Primary Care Mental Health Support Service or the ABUHB Secondary Care Mental Health Service. The health board is of the opinion that TUPE may apply for some of the lots, but not all of the lots. Further details are provided in the tender documentation. The community advocacy service reflects the strategic approach of the ABUHB mental health and learning disabilities division to offer recovery orientated services, which are person-centred and outcome focused utilising the strengths of each individual to focus on what matters to them. The provider will supply independent professional advocates to ensure that each person using the community advocacy service: — is supported to express, or are supported to have their views, wishes and feelings considered, — understand their rights and entitlements, — understand a decision making process, — understand and can communicate what matters to them, including the outcomes they wish to achieve, — understand and are supported to overcome the barriers to achieving those outcomes, — understand the options and choices available to them, — has their views and concerns listened to and are helped to explore options and rights, — are supported to contact relevant people, or the Provider contacts them on their behalf, — is accompanied and supported in meetings and appointments, — is helped to develop their own skills and confidence in dealing with specific issues. The provider should offer or facilitate a range of different types of advocacy based on the needs of the person e.g. self-advocacy, informal advocacy, collective advocacy, peer advocacy, citizen advocacy, formal advocacy and independent professional advocacy. The welfare advice service will provide advice and casework support, and support for tribunal and appeals, including PIP appeals, that is effective in preventing and reducing the problems faced by people using ABUHB mental health services in relation to, but not limited to, welfare benefits and tax credits, debt and financial capability, employment, health and social care and housing. The service will specifically: — deliver a free, independent, impartial and confidential advice service to ABUHB adult mental health service users, — provide an in-reach service to ABUHB adult mental health out-patient settings and in-patient wards, but also provide domiciliary visits as required, — have a relevant quality assurance standard such as the advice quality standard (AQS) and be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), — supply staff who will provide advice, casework support and appeals/tribunal support on a range of issues including (the list is not exhaustive): —— welfare benefits including PIP and tax credits; —— debt and financial capability; —— employment and employability; —— housing; —— health and social care; —— fuel poverty; —— signpost people onto other relevant services in their locality as required. The purpose of the connecting with nature service is to support recovery and social inclusion for mental health service users. We recognise that there is a strong relationship between access to nature and improvements in a person’s health and wellbeing. In recognising this we want to ensure that every person with mental illness is enabled to enjoy nature, connect with nature and the natural world and to experience a wide range of activities from gardening, to walking in a meadow, to bird watching. We want a service that will encourage people to identify their assets and strengths and support and enable people to work towards improving their own mental wellbeing and recovery. We want these to be activities for mental health service users in both community settings and our in-patient wards. The purpose of the taster activities service is to support recovery and social inclusion for mental health service users. We recognise that there is a strong relationship between participating in activities and improvements in a person’s health and wellbeing. We also acknowledge that sometimes mental health service users are unsure of the activities they wish to engage with or unaware of the range of activities available to them in the wider community. We want to commission a number of activities as taster sessions to showcase the range of opportunities available for mental health service users. Some taster sessions may also be available as short courses, whilst there will be sign posting to other activities which are available in the wider community. We would expect taster sessions and short courses to be responsive to demand and be co-produced with service users. We want these to be activities for mental health service users in both community settings and our in-patient wards. The taster activities service will specifically: — provide one-off taster group sessions on a recurring basis throughout the year, across the ABUHB footprint in a range of community venues and in ABUHB in-patient facilities, — provide group based short courses responsive to demand on a recurring basis throughout the year, across the ABUHB footprint in a range of community venues and in ABUHB in-patient facilities, — provide sessions in the following areas (the list is not exhaustive): —— leisure e.g. cooking; —— physical activities; —— connecting with nature; —— preparing for employment; —— creative arts; —— digital/technology; —— life skills e.g. financial capability; — to work in partnership with a full range of agencies and groups in the community, — to promote recovery and community participation, — enable service users to achieve their goals. The purpose of the mental health creative arts service is to support recovery and social inclusion for mental health service users. We recognise that there is a strong relationship between participating in creative arts experiences and improvements in a person’s health and wellbeing. In recognising this we want a creative arts service which will encourage people to identify their assets and strengths and enable them to develop artistically and socially, benefiting both them as an individual and the wider community. This will be achieved by encouraging the creativity and artistic quality of the individual whilst supporting and enabling individuals to work towards improving their own mental wellbeing and recovery. We want these to be activities for mental health service users in both community settings and our in-patient wards. The provider will evidence how the mental health and creative arts service: — supports mental health service users to have choice and control and feel empowered, — enables mental health service users to tap into their creative potential and use that to improve their own wellbeing, — supports mental health service users to focus on what matters to them, — empowers mental health service users to use the creative arts as a form of self-expression. The road to wellbeing psycho educational groups service reflects the strategic approach of the Anuerin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) mental health and learning disabilities division to continue to offer Tier 0 early intervention and prevention orientated services, which are person-centred and outcome focussed utilising the strengths of each individual to focus on what matters to them. The purpose of the road to wellbeing psycho educational groups service is to increase access to tier 0 psychological interventions. We are seeking a provider to work alongside ABUHB primary care mental health support service (PCMHSS) staff to deliver: — stress control – A 6 week CBT based course exploring practical skills to assist with controlling stress, — ACTivate Your Life – A 4 week course addressing emotional issues using acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness. We will require 4 cycles of the stress control course (4 x 6 weeks) and 4 cycles of the ACTivate Your Life course (4 x 4 weeks) per annum delivered across the ABUHB footprint. We anticipate the following set up and delivery times for each session for both courses to be: — stress control – 3,15 hours, — ACTivate your Life – 2,75 hours.