Social Prescribing Service - Crawley

Concepts

• health and social work
• lewes
• social prescribing services
• social prescribing service
• service users
• service stability
• a new sussex community-based social prescribing service
• then service mobilisation
• social
• crawley

Location

Crawley

Description

Social Prescribing Service within Crawley. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to contract award 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 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act Regulations 2023 do not apply to this award. This contract has not yet been formally awarded, this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR using Direct Award Process C. Written representations should be sent to aelliott1@nhs.net and cc. robert.kitt1@nhs.net by midnight on Tues 21st October 2025. The approximate lifetime value of the contract will be £303,952 over a two-year term, from 1st April 2026 until 31st March 2028.

Total Quantity or Scope

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to contract award 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 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act Regulations 2023 do not apply to this award.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85000000 - Health and social work services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice (Direct Award C). 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 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight on Tues 21st October 2025. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Other Information

On 22 April 2025, NHS Sussex ICB commenced market engagement for a proposed new Sussex community based social prescribing service. Since beginning our pre-procurement engagement, the government's 10 Year Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future has been published. Whilst expected, the 10 Year Health Plan clearly sets the strategic direction for neighbourhood health; describing a new NHS operating model and provider landscape, to deliver a more diverse and devolved health service. It describes the roles of Integrated Health Organisations, and how strategic commissioners should work to support and develop this infrastructure within their systems. Further to this, we have recognised that we need to reflect further on our intentions for a new Sussex community-based social prescribing service, and how this should best be delivered for the future. The ICB has therefore paused before the formal tender process is commenced while the ICB undertakes a strategic review of how best to move forward with the future procurement of social prescribing services in a way that is aligned with the 10 Year Health Plan. This means we are unable to complete our procurement process by April 2026 as intended. The decision to offer a two-year direct award has been chosen for several reasons. Firstly, it provides time for the new provider landscape to become clearer and allow the ICB to conduct the strategic review. This period is not only reasonable for current providers to commit to but also ensures that we can complete a full competitive procurement process efficiently, including market engagement, Invitation to Tender and then service mobilisation, if competitive procurement is the chosen route to commission the service following the strategic review, making this a comprehensive approach that supports all parties involved and ensures service stability for service users. It is currently estimated that a procurement process would re-commence in early 2026/27. The provider selection process was based on five key criteria, each weighted to reflect its importance in service delivery, value, and sustainability: o Quality & Innovation - 22% is allocated to quality and innovation to ensure the service is performing to the standards expected and to demonstrate the provider is able to innovate with the commissioner as per the ICB's expectations. For Social Prescribing, quality is essential to ensuring people receive safe, person-centred, and effective support. This includes staff competence, safeguarding, governance, outcomes monitoring, and user experience. The weighting recognises that access and integration are not sufficient on their own; the service must consistently deliver to a high standard. o Value - 15% is allocated to value to ensure our population is getting value for money from the service provided, and to ensure we are spending taxpayers' money efficiently. For Social Prescribing, while cost effectiveness is important, the service is not commissioned on a "lowest cost" basis. The lower weighting compared to the other domains reflects the commissioning intent to prioritise value and impact over absolute cost, while still ensuring bidders demonstrate affordability, financial robustness, and efficiency. o Integration & Sustainability - 23% is allocated to integration,collaboration, and service sustainability as integration is key to upcoming ICB plans, and along with collaboration as system wide engagement is required to ensure improvements are made to care and experience. For Social Prescribing, the success of the community social prescribing services relies on being a member of the Integrated Community Team MDTs as well as collaborating with other services, voluntary/community/faith sector organisations, and local authorities. This weighting reflects the importance of embedding the service within existing health and care, preventing duplication, and ensuring long-term viability. It incentivises bidders to demonstrate robust collaborative models and sustainability planning o Improving Access & Health Inequalities - 30% is allocated to improving access,reducing inequalities and facilitating choice as these are important factors that must be considered for all services ICBs commission. For Social Prescribing, this has the highest weighting because the primary purpose of community social prescribing service is to widen access to non-clinical support, targeting those with greatest need. Placing strong emphasis here ensures the service actively reduces health inequalities, enables individuals to make informed choices about their care, and aligns with NHS priorities on prevention and population health management. o Social Value - 10% is allocated to social value as services should be able to provide additional benefits to the wider population, not just those who access the service, and local social, environmental, and economic benefits,e.g. reducing CO2 emissions. For Social Prescribing, this weighting ensures alignment with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, encouraging providers to generate additional community benefits such as local employment, volunteering opportunities, and environmental sustainability. While important, it is given a smaller weighting to balance against the service's core objectives. The decision to award the contract to Crawley Community Action. was made through review of the above structured evaluation of key criteria, selection standards, and PSR compliance, which demonstrated that the Organisation continues to provide a high quality service for our population whilst ensuring the best value and service continuity for NHS Sussex. The assessment of the current service is as follows: Basic Selection Criteria: Basic Criteria 1: The provider's suitability to pursue a particular activity Pass Basic Criteria 2: Economic and financial standing Pass Basic Criteria 3 Technical and professional ability Pass Key Criteria: Quality and innovation: Score 4 (Weighted 17.6%) The provider is always striving for continuous improvement in the service targeting specific geographies and demographics in Crawley. The provider attends a wide variety of local events to provide an outreach service, giving on-the-spot advice, information, and support with self-referral. These include MSK community appointment days, Chagossian community events, Crawley Town FC's Extra Time Hub, Freeshop Community Café, and Crawley Volunteers Fair. The provider has developed a referral route with the local Job Centre, enabling work coaches to refer people who need social and practical support as part of their journey into employment. The provider has successfully developed and piloted perinatal social prescribing within the Crawley Maternity Hub as part of the Crawley Programme. Value: Score 4 (Weighted 12%) NHSE guidance recommends a full time Social Prescriber have an annual caseload of up to a maximum of 200 - 250 and that clients are supported for an average of 6 -12 contacts over a three-month period. In Q1 the service received 207 referrals with the average time on caseload being 3 months or less for 73% of clients (meeting the guidance) The service uses the validated Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. For clients discharged in Q1, 75% of respondents reported an increase in their overall score indicating positive impact on mental wellbeing, which can lead to better life satisfaction, happiness and overall quality of life. Integration, collaboration and service sustainability: Score 4 (Weighted 18.4%) The provider has a long standing relationship with the three Crawley Primary Care Networks, delivering social prescribing to patients and is supporting the development of social prescribing within the Integrated Community Team. Crawley's ethnic and cultural diversity requires creativity and trust. The provider has supported clients in partnership with groups such as the Gurjar Hindu Union, Brittania Tamil School and Today's Africa. They use volunteer translators, trusted brokers, and culturally sensitive approaches to engage individuals who may not otherwise have accessed support. The provider holds drop-in sessions at community centres, family hubs, local places of worship, and their own VCSE Sector Hub in the centre of Crawley. The provider has worked with Crawley Borough Council to successfully support people living in Temporary Accommodation and is part of the North West Sussex Perinatal Equity Steering Group through which a direct referral pathway has been set up to support pregnant women facing health inequalities to access social prescribing. Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice: Score 4 (Weighted 24%) Crawley Social Prescribing provides different models and levels of support. Face to face in Primary Care, community or home settings, telephone, email or video call. The interventions are tailored to meet the service user needs and choice and can range from low level signposting to intensive longer term support for complex situations. The service actively targets specific areas of higher deprivation and population groups more at risk of health inequalities. This is done through outreach and collaboration with trusted and valued partner organisations. In Q1 • 60% of referrals were for individuals living in households classified as IMD 5 or lower • 50.3% of referrals were for individuals from ethnic groups other than White British • 7 people were referred through the peri-natal equity route Social Value: Score 4 (Weighted 8%) Crawley Social Prescribing connects individuals to local services and where services do not exist support their development. The provider has supported clients to establish new initiatives in response to community need, such as Fibro Friends, a peer support group for people living with fibromyalgia. Established and secure, the group now offers long-term mutual support and acts as a trusted community asset. Volunteers play a role in the service, supporting delivery. One recent admin support volunteer, returning to work after a break, gained confidence and skills that helped her secure full-time employment at a local college. This use of volunteering reflects the providers commitment to adding value at both individual and community levels. Total Weighted Score: 80% This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to contract award 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 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act Regulations 2023 do not apply to this award. … A risk of a potential conflict of interest (perceived and/or actual) was identified whereby the PSR assessment was conducted solely by the Local Commissioner. As the commissioning subject matter expert of the service,they had the ability to control the outcome of the assessment, which might lead to either the perception of, or an actual conflict of interest. This risk was mitigated through management oversight of the scoring assessment. The decision maker is the Deputy Chief Integration & Primary Care Officer and Director of Joint Commissioning, NHS Sussex ICB. Written representations should be sent to aelliott1@nhs.net and cc. robert.kitt1@nhs.net by midnight on Tues 21st October 2025.