NHS111 Select Mental Health (MHO) is an all-age telephone support crisis line for people in self-defined crisis and incorporates a clinician support line. The service currently operates 24/7 and provides telephone support to people of all ages and carers of people in self-defined crisis, along with urgent advice, support and triage for professionals needing support for people in their care, including, but not limited to, the Police, Staying Well Services, SECAmb and GPs.

Mental health support and risk assessment is provided to people who present in mental health crisis, who are then provided with brief clinical interventions to manage the situation and sign-posted to the most appropriate longer-term health and social care support. The service is universal, and a broad definition of mental health crisis is applied. The service does not provide ongoing treatment.

A review of NHS111 (MHO) provision in Sussex highlighted that there is insufficient capacity within the existing service to fully manage the demand within reasonable call wait times (and reducing dropped calls).

The review also recommended the integration of the Compassionate Call Service into NHS111 (MHO) This telephone service, providing follow-up 72-hours after a person presenting with self-harm, anxiety or low mood at A&E has been a successful stand-alone initiative that was set up in 2020. The service supports preventing reattendance at A&E or contact with emergency services and fits within the enhanced clinical model for NHS111 (MHO).

The Service promotes empowerment of service users by giving them the opportunity to identify their own needs, make their own choices about what will help them, develop their own coping skills and develop a recovery plan. The Service encourages callers to draw on their own strengths and to develop resilience and coping strategies to manage any future crises.

The Service is delivered by a MDT consisting of clinical staff, peer support, and recovery workers. The clinical staff are employed by SPFT with the peer support and recovery workers being employed and provided by VCSE organisations, working within and under day-to-day SPFT line management structures.

This procurement is to obtain the support and provision of up a VCSE organisation that will provide up to 35WTE peer support and recovery workers.

The Provider will deliver the services across 2 sites, one in West Sussex (Worthing) and one in East Sussex (Seaford).

VCSE Providers may choose to work together to provide a single bid, however there will be one contract utilising a Lead Provider approach. Responses will be made by one Provider on behalf of any collaborating organisations and assurances of co-working arrangements will be sought.

Staff will live and work within the boundaries of Sussex and Brighton & Hove. Peer workers should have relevant experience of Sussex services.

The Contract is expected to Commence on the 1st November 2026. This will allow Provider(s) to recruit staff accordingly, and for those staff to join with induction and mobilisation processes in conjunction with SPFT staff.

The Service commencement will be the 1st March 2027.