Thames Valley and Wessex Adult Secure Provider Collaborative has opened a preliminary market engagement exercise for a patient flow clinical information system to be used across its low and medium adult mental health services, known as Shaped for Me.
The collaborative, a partnership of seven mental health service providers including NHS trusts and independent providers across five integrated care systems, is aiming to understand the market capability to deliver a digital platform to replace its current incumbent solution. It aims to fulfil the collaborative’s goals around coordinating care at scale, sharing resources and expertise, delivering efficiency and value, and to improve patient pathways.
On the exercise, the collaborative hopes to receive responses from the marketplace to understand the current technologies available, and the “art of the possible”, how skills and technologies can be applied to achieve the required outcomes.
The value of the contract is currently set at £400,000 with a 5-year duration. Interested suppliers are encouraged to submit responses to this market engagement process, outlining their expertise and the capabilities of their solution.
Last year, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust published a similar opportunity, also focusing on their mental health services. The contract was worth up to £16 million, with the trust seeking engagement from suppliers for an online mental health services framework, including the delivery of digital mental health assessments, treatments and therapies for patients across the region.
Digital mental health services: the wider trend
A feature by Jack Tabner, General Manager for Mental Health at Accurx explores navigating the future of ambient voice technology in mental health. It covers two critical challenges: the potential impact on the therapeutic alliance with patients and the limits of AI’s ability to interpret nuance during consultations.
Sheffield Children’s NHS FT opened a market engagement exercise in September with the intention to explore the options available for supplying online mental health services for children. The trust welcomed input on the draft specification for an external, digital provider of children’s mental health services, with the aim to “better understand the current market landscape and identify potential providers”.
A total of 17 health tech projects designed to reduce waiting times for children and young people’s mental health treatment have recently been awarded a share of £1.5 million through the NIHR’s Invention for Innovation programme. Among the funded projects are Enrich Digital Technologies Ltd’s AI-powered triage tool, Halara XR’s VR system for monitoring children’s behaviour and Tiny Medical Apps’ new “mood and feelings” tracker.
