Request for proposals – Head to Health Initial Assessment Hub
Healthy North Coast Ltd (HNCL) invites proposals from qualified providers with a proven record in Mental Health Service Delivery. The objective is to deliver the Head to Health Initial Assessment (IA) Hub telephony service across nine Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in New South Wales.
As part of the 2021-22 Mental Health and Suicide Prevention package, the Australian Government will invest $487.2 million over four years to enhance community access to mental health services through the establishment of the Head to Health network. This includes a national assessment and referral telephony service, integrated with the Head to Health website, offering referrals to community-based mental health treatment services. The Head to Health telephony service, alongside centres and digital platforms, creates diverse entry points for engagement, assessment, and treatment. The initiative aims for local service integration, ensuring a seamless care pathway for individuals with varying mental health needs. The service is free and facilitates easy access between community mental health services, promoting a unified and trusted approach under the “Head to Health” brand.
In New South Wales, a centralised statewide Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) telephony service has been operational since 2021, with eight Primary Health Networks (PHNs) collaborating on its delivery, led by HNCL. The current commissioned activity concludes 30 June 2024, providing the PHNs with an opportunity to collectively look at ways of enhancing and adapting the service model to be responsive to the needs of the PHNs and their respective communities The change in the service model will be referenced as the future-state model throughout the procurement documentation.
In the future-state model, nine NSW PHNs are participating in the delivery of the Head to Health telephony service, the PHNs include:
Healthy North Coast t/a North Coast PHN (lead)
Central Eastern Sydney PHN
Coordinare (South Eastern NSW PHN)
Hunter New England Central Coast PHN
Murrumbidgee PHN
South Western Sydney PHN
Western NSW PHN
Went West (Western Sydney PHN)
North Sydney PHN
The telephony service does not cover the Nepean Blue Mountains PHN region.
A collaborative effort across the PHN group, involving a Steering Committee, Referral Spoke Working Group, and Commissioning Working Group, has resulted in the formulation of this procurement approach, outlining primary objectives and associated activities.
The future-state model adopts a Head to Health hub and spoke model, wherein one PHN leads the management and delivery of the Initial Assessment (IA) via a centralised telephony hub on behalf of the NSW PHNs. Each PHN are also responsible for establishing and managing region-specific Referral Spoke services, ensuring a client-centric experience with warm transfer and referral to the most appropriate services within individual PHN regions, including community and tertiary mental health services where appropriate.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) documents are comprised of:
Section A: Invitation (this document); and
Section B: Participant Return Schedules.
Participants shortlisted by the Evaluation Panel following submission will be required to deliver an oral presentation to the Panel, whereby Healthy North Coast will provide key items to be addressed prior.
Procurement of the Head to Health IA Hub is divided into two stages:
1. An open Request for Tender (RFT) via Participant Return Schedule B.
2. An oral interview with shortlisted Participants as determined and invited by the Evaluation Panel.
Request for proposal documents are to be obtained through our TenderLink portal.
Enquiries should be directed via the TenderLink portal. Healthy North Coast staff are unable to respond to enquiries in relation to the expression of interest.