THE CHAIRPERSON of the Lenadoon Community Counselling Advisory Group has expressed his concern that the tendering process for funding from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust will lead to a reduction in the availability of community based counselling services.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Michael Doherty said: “The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) have had service level agreements with community providers to provide talking therapies.
“We have had one here in Lenadoon for almost 15 years and for that we would deliver almost 1,500 counselling sessions. All of those sessions are delivered from referrals by their mental health hubs whereby they refer the individual to counselling and then they pay us an amount to deliver those sessions.
“They decided midway through last year that they were going to take all that money from those contracts along with other money that they give to other providers and lump it together. That was put that out to tender in November” he added.
Discussing the process Michael said: “Everyone could apply for that and now we have large voluntary organisations who operate across the six counties bidding for the same tender as small community-based organisations.
“When you have large organisations and businesses who have the resources to pay for someone to do the tendering process for them, the small community-based providers can’t compete with that.”
When you have large organisations and businesses who have the resources to pay for someone to do the tendering process for them, the small community-based providers can’t compete with that.”
However, one particular aspect of the tendering process is causing particular difficulty for community based providers. Michael told us: “What makes it more difficult for organisations such as our own is that there is additional insurance involved. In this particular tender they have introduced the concept of cyber security whereby we have to try and get a cyber essentials assessment carried out.
“We are aware of another provider in North Belfast who paid over £10,000 to get the assessment processed. For small community organisations, that amount of money is just phenomenal. In terms of this tender you may not even get £10,000 to deliver the counselling services so it is very much stacked against community-based providers.
“I am aware that East Belfast Counselling have pulled out of the tendering process. There you have a very well respected community provider who have had to withdraw their services because of the conditions attached to the tender.
“The likes of ourselves and the West Belfast Community Wellbeing Alliance are still going through the tendering process. Come 31st of March we are looking at 4,000 counselling services across Belfast coming to an end. We are going to be operating on a significantly reduced capacity.
“I am listening to MLAs discussing a mental health tsunami and what we are now seeing is that a time when there is a need to enhance counselling provision, community providers are very much going to be at a disadvantage.”
I am listening to MLAs discussing a mental health tsunami and what we are now seeing is that a time when there is a need to enhance counselling provision, community providers are very much going to be at a disadvantage.”
The Andersonstown News recently reported that West Belfast has amongst the lowest levels of in-house counselling services at GP surgeries across the North.
Sara Boyce, Mental Health Campaign Organiser at PPR, said: “123 GP campaigners recently launched an interactive map of GP practice-based counselling provision that highlighted the postcode lottery nature of this vital service, with West Belfast being shown to be particularly poorly equipped with GP practice-based counsellors.
“There is a growing consensus that the rebuilding of our health services coming out of Covid-19 must include the provision of access to quality counselling as an effective, non-medicalised treatment option. It should be available to all who need it and nobody should have to wait longer than 28 days for an appointment.
“Local community-based counselling services have a key role to play in this regard. They are trusted by local people and have excellent capability, capacity and know-how, built up over many years. They are well placed to respond quickly and professionally to local people’s needs. Their role must be fully recognised and resourced.”
A spokesperson for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust said: “The Trust recently undertook a procurement process for the purchase of Primary Care Talking Therapies in the BHSCT area in line with the Public Contract Regulations 2015. This process will be completed within the next two to three weeks and contracts will be awarded accordingly.”
