The Provision of a Mental Health Crisis Text Support Service on behalf of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board

Opportunity overview

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is seeking to engage with the market regarding the provision of an all-age, 24-hour, 7 days a week/ 365 days a year Mental Health Crisis Text Service across Cheshire and Merseyside. The service will provide immediate, accessible and inclusive text-based support for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis and will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The service is intended to be fully integrated with NHS 111 (Mental Health Option) and local crisis response pathways, ensuring seamless access to urgent mental health support and onward referral where required. The service has been developed in line with NHS England guidance on urgent and emergency mental health care and supports the objectives of the NHS Long Term Plan, the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan, and national suicide prevention priorities. It aims to improve access to crisis support for people who may experience barriers to traditional services, including those affected by stigma, communication difficulties, disability, sensory needs, or geographical isolation across the region's diverse urban and rural communities. The term of the contract is 2 years, with the option to extend for 2 further periods of up to one year each. The extension options are not guaranteed and will be subject to ongoing service requirements, satisfactory performance, available funding and approval by the Authority. The maximum total contract value, including both potential extensions, is £1,400,000 ex VAT. The ITT deadline date is set as 12pm 4th December 2026, the opportunity can be found within the following link https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/dashboard/public/appext/comsapsbncdiscoveryui#/RfxEvent/preview/1110030967?anId=ANONYMOUS

Lot 1 — Contract lot

This procurement requirement falls within the scope of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR), as provided under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Accordingly, any subsequent procurement process will be conducted in accordance with the applicable PSR regulations and guidance. This market engagement exercise is being undertaken to inform the commissioning approach, understand market capability and capacity, and gather information from potential providers prior to making any procurement decision.

Contracting authority

NHS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD No.1 Lakeside, 920 Centre Park Square, Warrington, WA1 1QY, UKD7, United Kingdom Contact: Emily McShane-Riding Email: emily.mcshaneriding1@nhs.net Website: https://www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/

Procurement timetable and procedure

Procedure: Open procedure

Legal basis: 32014L0024

Submission deadline: 4 December 2026 at 12:00 pm

Submission language: EN

CPV Classification

85100000 — Health services; 79430000 — Crisis management services; 85121270 — Psychiatrist or psychologist services; 85323000 — Community health services

How to submit

The official Find a Tender notice directs suppliers to the buyer’s electronic tendering system. The procurement documents, clarifications and response area are managed there.

Open the buyer’s electronic tendering system ↗

TenderLab qualification first

Before we write, we establish whether the opportunity fits.

We examine the published participation conditions, service scope, geography, regulatory position, available evidence, mobilisation demands and commercial exposure with your team. We only confirm a full tender-writing engagement when the available information supports a responsible view that the provider meets the tender requirements.

If The Provision of a Mental Health Crisis Text Support Service on behalf of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is a credible fit, we can map the scored requirements, gather operational evidence and build the response around the buyer documents. The qualification check and any writing support do not guarantee an award; the contracting authority makes the final decision.