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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments

Medway Council · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 20:18.

Opportunity overview

Medway Council is seeking a single provider for the provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessments. The purpose of this service is to organise, complete and return the assessments, required for DoLS under the Mental Capacity Act (2014. These assessments must be carried out by a Section 12 registered doctor and returned to the Council within a set timeframe.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Published award value
Value not stated
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
25 Mar 2025
Award ID
012206-2025-1
Status
active
Location
Longfield, UKJ41, DA3 8DS, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV85300000 — Social work and related services

Lots

  • Medway Council is seeking a single provider for the provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessments. The purpose of this service is to organise, complete and return the assessments, required for DoLS under the Mental Capacity Act (2014. These assessments must be carried out by a Section 12 registered doctor and returned to the Council within a set timeframe. By way of background, the Mental Capacity Act (2005) is amended by the 2007 amendments to the Mental Health Act (1983) to include the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), implemented on 1 April 2009. The safeguards provide legal protection for vulnerable people who are, or may become, deprived of their liberty in a hospital or care home. They apply to people who have a mental disorder and who are assessed as lacking capacity to consent to the arrangements made for their residence, care or treatment. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards require hospitals and care homes (Managing Authorities) to apply to the Supervisory Body (in this case, Medway Council) for an authorisation to deprive the relevant person of their liberty. Before an authorisation is issued, the Supervisory Body must ensure that six assessments are completed. The assessments are undertaken by a Best Interests Assessor for DoLS (BIA) and a Section 12 mental health approved DoLS trained doctor as follows: The six assessments, and the person responsible for completing each assessment, are as follows: 1. Age (The relevant person must be over the age of 18 years) - BIA 2. Mental Capacity - BIA 3. No Refusals - BIA 4. Mental Health – Section 12 doctor 5. Eligibility - Section 12 doctor, or BIA who is Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) qualified 6. Best Interests - BIA The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Standard Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) Regulations 2008 require that the person undertaking the Mental Health assessment must be: Page 5 to 8 a. approved under section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983, or b. a registered medical practitioner who the Supervisory Body is satisfied has three years post registration experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder. The supervisory body must also be satisfied that the person has successfully completed the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Mental Health Assessors training programme made available by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Except in the 12 month period beginning with the date that the doctor has successfully completed the standard training, the regulations for England also require the Supervisory Body to be satisfied that the doctor has, in the 12 months prior to selection, completed further training relevant to their role as a mental health assessor.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
DN751767
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
No
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Bid Opening

Date
3 Jan 2025, 15:00

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Framework Agreement

Period Rationale
The framework is for an initial period of three years, with three options to extend by two years. DoLS was due to be replaced by the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) during the last parliament, but the legislation was not cleared before the change of government. The new government has not yet outlined its stance on LPS, and so this legislation is currently on hold. The additional extensions of this contract provide scope to have a contract in place for up to two parliamentary terms, which should be sufficient time for the proposed legislation to be reviewed, revised, consulted upon, and receive royal ascent.
Maximum Participants
1

Expected award period

Starts
3 Jan 2025, 15:00

Tender Period

Ends
3 Jan 2025, 15:00

Classification

Id
85300000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social work and related services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Submission Method

electronicSubmission

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
Yes
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
Medway Council is seeking a single provider for the provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessments. The purpose of this service is to organise, complete and return the assessments, required for DoLS under the Mental Capacity Act (2014. These assessments must be carried out by a Section 12 registered doctor and returned to the Council within a set timeframe. By way of background, the Mental Capacity Act (2005) is amended by the 2007 amendments to the Mental Health Act (1983) to include the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), implemented on 1 April 2009. The safeguards provide legal protection for vulnerable people who are, or may become, deprived of their liberty in a hospital or care home. They apply to people who have a mental disorder and who are assessed as lacking capacity to consent to the arrangements made for their residence, care or treatment. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards require hospitals and care homes (Managing Authorities) to apply to the Supervisory Body (in this case, Medway Council) for an authorisation to deprive the relevant person of their liberty. Before an authorisation is issued, the Supervisory Body must ensure that six assessments are completed. The assessments are undertaken by a Best Interests Assessor for DoLS (BIA) and a Section 12 mental health approved DoLS trained doctor as follows: The six assessments, and the person responsible for completing each assessment, are as follows: 1. Age (The relevant person must be over the age of 18 years) - BIA 2. Mental Capacity - BIA 3. No Refusals - BIA 4. Mental Health – Section 12 doctor 5. Eligibility - Section 12 doctor, or BIA who is Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) qualified 6. Best Interests - BIA The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Standard Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) Regulations 2008 require that the person undertaking the Mental Health assessment must be: Page 5 to 8 a. approved under section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983, or b. a registered medical practitioner who the Supervisory Body is satisfied has three years post registration experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder. The supervisory body must also be satisfied that the person has successfully completed the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Mental Health Assessors training programme made available by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Except in the 12 month period beginning with the date that the doctor has successfully completed the standard training, the regulations for England also require the Supervisory Body to be satisfied that the doctor has, in the 12 months prior to selection, completed further training relevant to their role as a mental health assessor.

Options

Description
The term of the contract will be initially for 3 years with 3 further options to extend for 2 years, (3 years, plus 2 + 2 + 2 years).

Renewal

Description
The term of the contract will be initially for 3 years with 3 further options to extend for 2 years, (3 years, plus 2 + 2 + 2 years).

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality
Type
quality
Description
60%
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
40%

Contract period

Duration In Days
1,080

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKJ41
Entry 2
Region
UKJ41

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
economic
Document Type
economicSelectionCriteria
Entry 2
Id
technical
Document Type
technicalSelectionCriteria

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-3633
Name
Medway Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKJ41
Locality
Chatham
Postal Code
ME4 4TR
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
REGIONAL_AUTHORITY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Regional or local authority
Entry 2
Id
01
Scheme
COFOG
Description
General public services

Identifier

Legal Name
Medway Council

Contact

Name
Mr James Welch
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-3634
Name
Medway Council

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Chatham
Country Name
United Kingdom

Identifier

Legal Name
Medway Council
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-142459
Name
South East Memory Assessment Services Limited

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKJ41
Locality
Longfield
Postal Code
DA3 8DS
Country Name
United Kingdom

Details

Scale
sme

Identifier

Legal Name
South East Memory Assessment Services Limited

Award information

Award 1
Id
012206-2025-1
Title
Provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-142459
Name
South East Memory Assessment Services Limited

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
012206-2025-1
Title
Provision of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments
Status
active
Award ID
012206-2025-1
Date Signed
25 Mar 2025, 00:00

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Chatham · UKJ41 · ME4 4TR · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKJ41

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-04c073-2025-04-01T11:52:21+01:00compiled ·