Patient Discharge and Mental Health Step Down Beds (Care) Services
Framework Description
NHS Shared Business Services' Patient Discharge and Mental Health Step Down Beds (Care) Services framework helps hospitals move medically fit patients out of acute beds to home or another suitable setting. Four lots cover discharge to assess, third-party brokerage, virtual ward support and mental health step-down placements. Applications for this framework are closed (it is not a DPS), and it runs to 16 July 2027 with no extension.
Context & Use Case
Acute trusts and health providers use it when delayed discharges are blocking beds and raising infection and readmission risks. Typical call-offs bring in teams to assess patients outside hospital, brokers to arrange onward care, virtual ward support for up to six weeks after referral by discharge teams, or supported placements for adults leaving acute mental health wards.
Scope of Services
Lot 1: Discharge to assess services, from emergency departments, acute hospitals and community settings Lot 2: Third-party brokerage services for patients fit for discharge Lot 3: Virtual ward support services, giving secondary care in the patient's setting for up to six weeks Lot 4: Mental health step-down care beds, with rapid assessment and accommodation for adults 18+ discharged from acute wards, for up to six weeks
Lots
Lot 1: Discharge to Assess Services This lot facilitates patient discharge not only from emergency departments but also from the wider acute hospital and community care settings. Lot 2: Third Party Brokerage Services This lot supplies brokerage services for hospital patients whose needs are to be met when they are fit to be discharged from hospital. Lot 3: Virtual Ward Support Services This lot supplies a secondary care service within a patient's care setting for up to 6 weeks. Patients are transferred to the Virtual Ward Support Service following referral from the Trusts’ clinical discharge teams on acceptance by service leads. Lot 4: Mental Health Step Down Care Beds Services This lot is focused on securing Mental Health Step Down Care supported placements which must provide safe, rapid assessments with an outcome of accommodation that would support patients who are 18+ currently enduring mental ill-health and are being discharged from an acute ward for a period of up to six weeks.
Who Can Apply
It suits discharge and home care providers, care brokerage firms, virtual ward clinical teams and supported accommodation operators for adults with mental ill-health. Applications for this framework are closed and there is no extension, so providers not appointed should prepare for a successor procurement around 16 July 2027.
Buyer Benefits
Freeing acute beds is the core aim, so trusts value providers who can take patients quickly, assess them safely outside hospital and reduce readmissions. Four separate lots mean a trust can buy only brokerage or virtual ward capacity without outsourcing its whole discharge process.
Next Steps
No extension is available, so the framework ends on 16 July 2027 and a successor route is the realistic target for new providers. Assemble evidence on time from referral to discharge, readmission rates and six-week outcomes, and keep an eye on NHS SBS's page for this framework for re-procurement notices. Incumbents should keep winning call-offs to build that record.
How Athena Can Help
Discharge services are scored on speed and safety, so evidence decides the outcome. Athena's health and care bid writers write call-off and successor responses around referral times, readmissions and patient outcomes, and our compliance checks catch gaps before submission.
For providers outside the framework, our framework opportunity search identifies the successor and other routes into NHS discharge work, and a bid/no-bid evaluation helps decide which of the four lots to pursue so effort goes where you can win.
