Integrated All Age Mental Health Services

Description

A single integrated contract to provide adult, children's and young people mental health services including all-age eating disorder services (AAED) covering both Kent and Medway. Lot 1: A single integrated contract for the provision of adult, children and young peoples mental health services including AAED covering both Kent and Medway to be mobilised from contract commencement (expected Oct 2025) for a fully integrated service in all areas by 1st April 2026. The contract will operate on a rolling 12 month basis, i.e. with an annual right for the ICB to terminate, up to a maximum initial term of 5 years from contract signature with a right to extend for an additional 3 years. To date, mental health services have been carried out by different providers in Kent and Medway across the age groups. The award of a new all-age mental health contract is in accordance with the ICB's desire to more closely align the delivery of these services to ensure a smooth transition of patient care from child to adult. The integration of mental health services across Kent and Medway is a strategic priority that responds directly to national policy, local need, and the voices of people who use our services. Integration means bringing together different parts of the mental health offer, across ages, settings, and specialisms, ensuring that children, young people and adults experience care that is seamless, consistent and effective. The ICB expect the integration to deliver improved outcomes for patients by enabling earlier intervention, better continuity of care and more holistic support which leads to better mental health and wellbeing for children, young people, and adults. It creates a real opportunity to strengthen our response to young adults, treating them as a distinct group with specific vulnerabilities and needs. This means developing new practice, building a stronger, more capable workforce skilled in young adult mental health, and offering flexible, age-appropriate support that recognises this life stage as a critical window for intervention. Integration removes arbitrary age thresholds by creating a more flexible, needs-based model which meets iTHRIVE principles. Young people no longer fall between the cracks when they turn 18 but have the opportunities to receive developmentally appropriate support through transition and beyond. The expiry of the current contracts for children and young people's mental health services at the end of March 2026 has provided an opportunity for the ICB to strategically align this service provision into this integrated contract. The ICB acknowledges that some elements of this contracting arrangement are also capable of delivery by other suppliers through patient choice arrangements. The ICB is satisfied that Direct Award Process B does not apply to this specific contractual arrangement but there is no intention to limit or restrict the rights of patients or alternative suppliers to deliver patient choice services and this award is without prejudice to such rights.