8-bed female-only Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

The service required is an 8-bed female-only Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) providing specialist 24-hour inpatient care for adult women (18+) experiencing acute and severe mental illness whose level of risk, behavioural disturbance, or clinical acuity cannot be safely managed within a standard acute mental health ward. The service will serve patients across the Thames Valley footprint and provide rapid assessment, intensive multidisciplinary treatment, enhanced observation, physical healthcare, psychological and trauma-informed interventions, and active discharge planning from admission. The service must deliver safe, gender-responsive, recovery-focused care within a therapeutic environment, supporting women with complex mental health needs while reducing reliance on out-of-area placements. The provider will be required to demonstrate robust clinical governance, appropriate staffing and skill mix, effective pathway integration, and measurable improvements in patient outcomes, safety, experience, and timely step-down to less intensive services This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Intended Approach 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 23 do not apply to this contract. This Intended Approach Notice is being published in line with Regulation 10 - under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime - PSR) Regulations 2023. (The Most Suitable Provider Process) is being used to commission this service. This will be published for at least 14 calendar days as per the requirements of the Provider Selection Regime 2023. This is to enable providers to approach the Trust and express their interest in being considered as the 'most suitable provider'. Deadline for expression of interest is 17:00 Friday 2/10/2026. Additional information: The successful MSP will have to satisfy the Basic Selection Criteria and demonstrate how they meet the Key Criteria as listed within this notice. The Authority will select the MSP based on the following stages: 1) The Provider will have to satisfy the Basic Selection Criteria in accordance with regulation 19 of the PSR Suitability (Paas/Fail) • Ability to provide a female-only adult PICU model with appropriate environmental, staffing and safeguarding arrangement with potential start of no later than 1st December 2026. • Provision to be within the Thames Valley footprint, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to support patients and their families to access care within a maximum of a 30-mile radius from their NHS inpatient healthcare base and care teams. • CQC registration and regulatory status appropriate to the proposed service. • Compliance with Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, safeguarding, medicines management, rapid tranquillisation, restrictive practice and physical healthcare requirements. • Ability to provide safe staffing, including enhanced observation capacity for up to 30 days where clinically indicated and agreed through the contractual mechanism. • Agreement to provide the full contract quality schedule, monthly dashboard, narrative exception reporting and participation in commissioner-led quality review meetings. • Evidence of robust clinical governance, incident reporting, safeguarding escalation, patient safety learning and serious incident management arrangements. 2) The Authority will then assess providers who satisfy the Basic Selection Criteria against the Key Criteria as set out below to determine the MSP. The criteria are ranked in priority order:- Quality and Innovation Integration, collaboration, and service sustainability Improving access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice value Value Social Value