Scope
Description
NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU) is working on behalf of North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust (NSCHT) who are looking to undertake a
Competitive Process for a Crisis Alternative Provision for Stoke on Trent & North Staffordshire .
The service is intended to provide a Crisis House / Sanctuary / Safe Haven-type service for those in Mental Health crisis, as an alternative to hospital admission. There will be an expectation for the service model to support and align with the forthcoming 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre as part of NHS England's Quality Transformation Programme. The indicative financial envelope has been revised upward following the previous market engagement undertaken in December 2024.
NSCHT would like to invite all potential providers to attend an online Engagement Event on Wednesday 25th February 2026 14:00pm-15:00pm via Microsoft Teams.
The purpose of the Engagement Event is to share the background and the need for this service locally and share the intended outcomes of the service. Commissioners would like to understand the current market and their perspectives.
Interested providers can register their interest on the Atamis Portal. The Trust would also like to invite potential providers to answer some additional questions in the short questionnaire in project C419150'2026 Event NSCHT Crisis Alternative Provision for Stoke on Trent & North Staff'. These questions are intended to provide information to the Trust only, and will not scored competitively.
The deadline for submitting interest is Tuesday 17th February 2026 12:00pm. Providers who have registered an interest will then be sent the link to the engagement event before the event starts on Wednesday 25th February 2026.
Should providers have any queries, or have any problems using the portal, they should contact the Helpdesk at:
Phone: 0800 9956035
E-mail: support-health@atamis.co.uk
Following the event, a Competitive Process for this opportunity may be advertised on Find a Tender in due course.
The estimated contract value is c.£1,875,000 for a 5 year contract (2 years with an option to extend for 1 year, then 1 year , then 1 year).
All information provided in this advert is subject to change.
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2031
- 5 years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 85300000 - Social work and related services
Contract locations
- UKG2 - Shropshire and Staffordshire
Engagement
Engagement deadline
17 February 2026
Engagement process description
This is a Procurement Act 2023 (Act) Preliminary market engagement notice. The above service will be classed as a Light Touch Regime service contract pursuant to the Act Regulation 9.
Contracting authority
NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE COMBINED HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST
- NHS Organisation Data Service: RLY
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PRXC-6549-RWBT
Lawton House, Bellringer Road
Trentham
ST4 8HH
United Kingdom
Email: mlcsu.tendersnorth@nhs.net
Website: https://www.combined.nhs.uk/
Region: UKG23 - Stoke-on-Trent
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
Other organisation
These organisations are carrying out the procurement, or part of it, on behalf of the contracting authorities.
NHS MIDLANDS AND LANCASHIRE COMMISSIONING SUPPORT UNIT
Summary of their role in this procurement: Procurement Support
- NHS Organisation Data Service: 0CX
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PGTM-4634-DGZQ
Bennett House, Town Road
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 2QB
United Kingdom
Email: mlcsu.tendersnorth@nhs.net
Region: UKG23 - Stoke-on-Trent
Contact organisation
Contact NHS MIDLANDS AND LANCASHIRE COMMISSIONING SUPPORT UNIT for any enquiries.