Community Health Providers, Mental Health |

East of England

Norfolk and Suffolk FT

Bid support for Liaison and Diversion Service in Norfolk and Suffolk

Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health and learning disability care for people across Norfolk and Suffolk.

They work with NHS and social care partners, service users, carers, the voluntary sector and the police to provide integrated health and social care mental health services in community and inpatient settings.

What We Did

In 2025, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) sought Baxendale’s support in responding to a competitive procurement for the Norfolk and Suffolk Liaison and Diversion (L&D) service, working alongside VCSE outreach partner Julian Support.

NSFT already had an established Liaison and Diversion service operating across police custody suites and the court system, providing early identification, assessment and onward support for individuals with complex mental health, neurodiversity and social needs. The challenge was to translate this well‑embedded operational service into a clear, high‑quality bid that demonstrated how it met the specification and evaluation criteria.

What Changed

Baxendale was commissioned to lead the bid end to end, from shaping the bid narrative through to full drafting and submission.

We worked closely with clinical, operational and corporate SMEs to understand how the service operated in practice within custody environments and court settings, including referral routes, assessment processes and follow‑up support. This enabled us to clearly articulate a needs‑led Liaison and Diversion offer, showing how the service delivers timely and proportionate interventions at key points in the justice pathway.

A particular focus was ensuring the bid clearly described how individuals are supported from initial contact in custody, through court appearances, and into onward community support, with outreach playing a key role in sustaining engagement beyond the initial point of contact.

From this work, Baxendale developed strong, evidence‑led win themes, translating operational strength and delivery experience into a compelling and consistent narrative across the submission.

Baxendale coordinated SME input and wrote the bid in its entirety, ensuring all sections aligned and presented a clear, coherent and joined‑up response.

Results

The bid was successful, securing the contract for NSFT and Julian Support.

The process resulted in a high‑scoring bid that clearly articulated how the Liaison and Diversion service operates in custody suites and courts, how needs‑led support is delivered in practice, and how the service provides consistent, effective intervention across the justice pathway. This provided a strong foundation for mobilisation and ongoing delivery.

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