Prior information notice
This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Steelhouse Lane
Birmingham
B4 6NH
UK
Contact person: Michael Barlow
E-mail: michael.barlow1@nhs.net
NUTS: UKG
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.bwc.nhs.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.bwc.nhs.uk/
I.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at:
https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Health
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Enhanced Care Unit
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85100000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
***THIS NOTICE IS FOR A MARKET ENGAGEMENT EVENT ONLY***<br/><br/>NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit on behalf of West Midlands Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Provider Collaborative (WMCPC) (https://toucanwestmids.nhs.uk/), for which Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) is the Lead Provider are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced providers for the provision of an Enhanced Care Unit.<br/><br/>The service(s) must be located within the geography of the West Midlands.<br/><br/>Contract Length is expected to be for a period of 3 years with the Commissioner having the option to extend the Contract for up to a further 2 years.<br/><br/>The indicative annual contract value is expected to be £4,800,000.<br/><br/>The contract awarded will be a ‘Lead Provider sub-contract’ for the purposes of fulfilling our responsibilities under our ‘Lead Provider contract’ with the Commissioner. Should the Lead Provider arrangements change during the term of the contract, relevant responsibilities will be transferred to an alternative organisation as appropriate. The General Condition 12 ‘Assignment and Sub-Contracting’ of the NHS Standard Contract, as per the obligations of the commissioner, will set out the terms and conditions under which the contract will be transferred or assigned to the relevant Lead Provider or relevant commissioning authority.<br/><br/>The Contract to be entered into will be in accordance with the general NHS Standard Contract issued by the Commissioner(s), which can be found at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-standard-contract/<br/><br/>Further details are provided in II.2.4 below.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
24 000 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
85111500
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKG3
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
***THIS NOTICE IS FOR A MARKET ENGAGEMENT EVENT ONLY***<br/><br/>The service will offer an Enhanced Care Unit (ECU) environment and level of care. The clinical model will be trauma responsive, sensory adjusted to provide autism sensitive care. The service will include the clinical expertise required to assess and manage presentations where disordered eating is a feature and presents a clinical risk.<br/><br/>Delivering an enhanced level of care, through specialist care planning and risk assessment with a skilled MDT. The service aims to prevent children and young people from escalating to highly restrictive settings, such as PICU or low secure services, and to support timely step-down from these environments where clinically safe and appropriate.<br/><br/>The service will provide a specialist inpatient option within the clinical pathway for children and young people who may otherwise be referred to low secure services due to a lack of suitable alternatives. The ECU will prevent unnecessary escalation by delivering intensive, needs-led support within a less restrictive, therapeutically appropriate environment.<br/><br/>Further details regarding this requirement can be found in the service specification which is available to download from the Atamis portal.<br/><br/>This is a new service model for Children and Young People’s Intensive Mental Health Services (CYPIMHS), as such, the successful Provider is expected to be fully operational, providing services from January 2027.<br/><br/>The Commissioner intends to hold a market engagement event via MS Teams on 13th May 2026 at 10:00 – 12:00, with follow up 30 minute 1:1 session being held 13:00 – 16:00 on 13th and 1:1 session on 14th May 2026 10:00 – 12: 00. You will only be invited to a 1:1 session if you have attended the market engagement event, to ensure all attendees have access to the same information. Sessions will be scheduled on a first come first serve basis. Interested parties should express an interest in attending by completing a short questionnaire which can be found on the Atamis Health Family portal (https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome and search for project C444005. A link to the event can be accessed via the invitation located within the Documents area of the Atamis project.<br/><br/>Please ensure that you have registered your interest in attending the market engagement event by 12th May 2026 at 12 noon.
II.2.14) Additional information
***THIS NOTICE IS FOR A MARKET ENGAGEMENT EVENT ONLY***<br/><br/>Interested parties should express an interest in attending by completing a short questionnaire which can be found on the Atamis Health Family portal (https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome and search for project C444005. A link to the event can be accessed via the invitation located within the Documents area of the Atamis project.<br/><br/>Please ensure that you have registered your interest in attending the market engagement event by 12th May 2026 at 12 noon.<br/><br/>Please note that this notice does not bind either AGEM CSU or the Commissioner to any act, including but not limited to carrying out a procurement for the services described in this notice or in any accompanying documentation which may be made available to the market at this time. In the event that a procurement process is pursued following this notice, providers should note that it will be carried out under the requirements of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Furthermore, the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023, save for those requirements detailed in regulation 28 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025, do not apply.
II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:
12/06/2026
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Contract Notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. In addition, neither the placement of this notice nor any subsequent notice shall bind the Commissioner to the award of any contract.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
30/04/2026