Request for Tender for: Research and implementation support services to support the management of self-harm and suicidality in the Irish Prison ...
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Request for Tender for: Research and
implementation support services to
support the management of self-harm
and suicidality in the Irish Prison
Service.
January 2021
1Section 1: Background information
The HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention (HSE NOSP) and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) are
pleased to jointly issue this Request for Tender for research and implementation support services to
support the management of self-harm and suicidality in the Irish Prison Service. The partners to this
tender are instigating this competition to:
Gain greater insight into the effectiveness of current practices being used in the prison
service to manage self-harm and suicidality;
Obtain research and implementation support to assist with the roll-out of an evidence-based
intervention (CAMS) to manage presentations of self-harm and suicidality in the prison
population.
The prison population is an extremely vulnerable one and is more likely to exhibit characteristics
associated with self-harm than the general population. Self-harm in prison is not only a risk factor
for prison suicide, it can be a major problem for the prison and impact on (staff and inmate) morale
within the institution. In addition, risk factors for self-harm among those in custody will be different
to those of the general population.
An essential component of suicide prevention in prisons is having a surveillance system in place to
monitor the incidence of self-harm and suicide attempts. Such a system will provide robust
information relating to the incidence and profile of self-harm within prison settings, identify
individual- and context-specific risk factors relating to self-harm and examine patterns of repeat self-
harm (both non-fatal and fatal). Such information can be used to inform the identification and
management of those in custody engaging in and at-risk of self-harm and to develop effective
prevention initiatives.
Under Connecting for Life (CfL) – Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide (2015-2020) - the Irish
Prison Service (IPS) has committed to, inter alia, reviewing, analysing and identifying learning for
each episode of self-harm within the prison estate. To this end, since 2016, the Irish Prison Service
(supported by the National Suicide Research Foundation) has been working to quantify, assess and
understand the self-injurious behaviours that occur across the IPS estate. The resulting Self harm
Assessment and Data Analysis (SADA) Project is providing vital and empirical evidence for the IPS to
use in the development of policy and strategic responses to assist in reducing the overall incidence
of self-harm behaviours. To date, two annual reports of the SADA Project have been completed and
published, providing insight and analysis and comparators of self-harm and suicidality in the Irish
Prison Service. This also facilitates a comparison with other jurisdictions and highlights the
differences between the general population and people in custody. The IPS is currently planning to
implement an evidence-based intervention, Collaborative Assessment and Management of
Suicidality (CAMS), to support front-line IPS staff in responding to self-harm behaviours and
suicidality in the prison population.
About the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention
The HSE NOSP supports, drives and co-ordinates the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
Connecting for Life (CfL), Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015-2020
(www.connectingforlifeireland.ie). CfL focuses on the primary and secondary prevention of suicidal
behaviour and addresses a broad range of risk and protective factors. There are 69 actions under
seven strategic goals; 22 government departments/agencies have made commitments as lead
and/or supporting partners to deliver on these actions. In addition, 23 NGO partners are funded (by
the HSE) to deliver on work aligned the CfL strategic objectives.
2About the Irish Prison Service
The Irish Prison Service is responsible for the safe and secure custody of persons held on remand, on
immigration matters and people sentenced to prison.
It is responsible for ensuring that convicted persons properly serve their sentence. The Irish Prison
Service is also responsible for providing the opportunities for prisoners to engage in a meaningful
way in order to reduce the likelihood of their reoffending and assist them reintegrate into their
communities.
It is the role of the Irish Prison Service to help achieve a safer and fairer Ireland by:
Providing safe and secure custody with dignity of care for people committed to prison;
Reducing the risk of harm to the public and the likelihood of reoffending by providing
rehabilitation for people in prison;
Working with the Probation Service to create an integrated offender management
programme;
Assisting people in prison maintain family relations and contact with the wider community.
3Section 2: Tender Details
As stated in Section 1, the aim of this tender is to:
Gain insight into the current practices and policies being used in the prison service to
manage self-injury and suicidality;
Obtain research and implementation support to assist with the roll-out of an evidence-based
intervention (CAMS) to manage presentations of self-injury and suicidality in the prison
population.
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) is an approach for managing risk of
harm for individuals which has extensive empirical evidence behind it. CAMS is an evidence-based
therapeutic framework designed to wrap around pre-existing mental health interventions of all
types and can be delivered by all mental health staff. The CAMS intervention prioritises the suicidal
service users’ point of view in collaboratively identifying the drivers of their suicidal thoughts and
feelings, and planning treatment accordingly. The CAMS model includes collaboratively addressing
the tasks of risk assessment, risk management, and treatment planning.
CAMS involves relevant staff engaging in a four step training process, outlined below:
1. Read CAMS manual;
2. CAMS Foundational Video Course - Three Hour Video Overview of the CAMS Model presented
by the Creator of CAMS (David A. Jobes, Ph.D.);
3. Role play training;
4. Consultation Calls.
As it stands, Psychologists in the IPS Psychology Services have been invited to engage in parts one
and two of the below CAMS training, with a view to introducing parts three and four in 2021. To
date, 12 Psychologists have undertaken part one and two of training. It has been agreed that
extending to other clinical staff (e.g. nursing staff) needs to be time sensitive given the current
demands of Covid-19.
The HSE NOSP and IPS would welcome tenders which can fulfil the following tender objectives:
What are we doing now? - Conduct a rapid review of the current practices and policies for
managing self-injury and suicidality in the Irish Prison Service. This can be supported by IPS
staff via provision of relevant documentation and information sharing meetings.
What has been done elsewhere? – CAMS has been implemented in a limited number of
custodial settings in the US and there is some empirical research documenting these efforts.
This research project should be informed by the learning from this research and other
research commissioned into CAMS in Ireland, which can be provided by the IPS and HSE
NOSP. A formal literature review is not required but it is expected that the successful
tenderer familiarise themselves with this research and that it informs project outputs.
Begin initial implementation - Support the implementation of an initial pilot of the CAMS
intervention across the IPS Prison Service by psychologists who have commenced training in
CAMS, and seek feedback to inform further implementation.
Site scale up - Develop a roadmap for introduction of the CAMS Framework in the IPS. This
includes the possibility of piloting the CAMS Framework in specific sites in the IPS estate e.g.
HSU in Mountjoy, Dóchas Women’s prison, and D2 in Cloverhill for those with active mental
illness.
Practitioner scale up - Develop a multi-disciplinary model of CAMS in prison involving
implementation of the full CAMS Framework by clinicians (e.g. Psychologists,
4Healthcare/Nursing Staff) and a deconstructed version for prison based staff (e.g. Prison
Officers, ISM Officers, Chaplaincy, In Reach Services such as Addiction Counsellors.)
Project outputs
The successful tenderer will be required to deliver the following evidence-informed1 outputs:
A short report detailing the current practices in place for dealing with self-injurious and
suicidal behaviour in the Irish Prison Service;
An implementation plan to support the initial CAMS pilot among psychology staff who have
commenced training;
A short project progress report at the mid-stage of the project;
An implementation plan to support scale up of CAMS to other sites in the IPS estate
following the initial pilot;
A concise framework to support the multidisciplinary implementation of CAMS by IPS staff.
No formal reports on any consultations conducted will be required, but it is expected that
consultation with relevant personnel and stakeholders is a core part of the proposed methodology
by the successful tenderer. Direct implementation support to assist the enactment of
implementation plans is also envisaged as part of award of contract in this tender competition.
Project budget
The total budget for this tender is €25,000 including VAT. The budget must include all expenses and
VAT. Tenderers must confirm that all prices quoted in the tender will remain valid for six months
following the tender deadline.
Prior to the award of any contract arising out of this RFT, the successful tenderer shall be required to
supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to allow for online verification
of their tax status by the IPS and HSE NOSP.
Project timeframe
IPS and HSE NOSP are keen that this work begin as soon as is practicable and asks that tenderers
specify how soon they would be in a position to commence the work. Duration of the tender will be
no more than twelve months after the awarding of the tender.
1Informed by both research conducted as part of this project and also the broader research on the implementation of CAMS in other
custodial settings.
5Section 3: Instructions to Tenderers
Format of tenders
Tenders are required to be submitted by email in either Word or PDF format. Tender responses
should adhere to the following format:
1. Organisational / Consultant profile: Full consultant/organisation name, address, phone
number(s), email and registered organisation number. Any sub-contracting arrangements
must be clearly indicated.
2. Relevant experience and project team: An overview of relevant experience in the research /
policy / service area(s) of: mental health, custodial settings, implementation support and
planning. Details of at least two similar projects completed over the last 5 years must be
provided here, with referee contact details. Also include details of the proposed team, with
brief biographies of all team members. CVs of no more than two pages may be submitted as
part of the tender response. The specified team in the tender response must be the
personnel that will carry out the work, if successful.
3. Methodology: Details on the proposed approach to delivering the services required.
4. Project plan: A clear and detailed project plan presenting the timelines for work
commencement to completion, with the responsibilities of team members clearly
presented.
5. Project budget: A detailed budget for successfully completing this work, with the daily rate
included.
Queries
All queries relating to this tender competition must be sent by email only to Sarah Rochford
(Research Officer, HSE NOSP – sarah.rochford@hse.ie) with the subject line: ‘CAMS RfT Query’. All
queries must be submitted by 5pm on 18th January 2021.
The IPS and HSE NOSP reserves the right at any time before the tender deadline to update, cancel or
amend the information contained in this document and / or to extend the tender deadline.
Submission of tenders
Tender responses must be submitted via email to Sarah Rochford at HSE NOSP
(sarah.rochford@hse.ie) by 5pm on 2nd February 2021. Tender submissions received after this
deadline will not be accepted. All tender documentation must be in PDF or Word format.
6Section 4: Shortlisting and Evaluation of Tenders and Award of Contract
Tenders will be shortlisted for formal review based on their experience of previous completed
projects. Tenders must display completion of at least two similar projects in the last five years
where implementation support was delivered to a contractor, preferably a front-line service
organisation. References and contact details must be provided for these projects.
It is also preferable that tenders evidence some knowledge / experience / expertise in at least one of
the following areas: custodial settings, mental health and implementation science.
All tender submissions received will be awarded out of a total of 100 marks on the basis of the
following criteria:
Methodology and approach (30 marks);
Cost (40 marks);
Project plan and timeframes (30 marks).
The IPS and HSE NOSP do not bind themselves to accepting the lowest priced of any tender. The
tenderer will be required, if necessary, to outline and agree the approach which it proposes to take
to the research with the members of any Advisory Group which may be created to support and
inform the work of this RfT.
All persons involved in the successful tender who will be accessing the Irish Prison Service Estate will
be required to undergo Garda Vetting and security clearance.
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