CHANGES are likely to take place in the way some mental health care is provided in Herefordshire.

But health chiefs are trying to calm fears that existing day case provision will be reduced, or even withdrawn.

"It will be a changed process and I can understand that changes can seem quite scary,'' said Mike Thomas, deputy director of operations with Herefordshire Primary Care Trust.

"But I'm confident this new way of doing things could be better and attract improved resources."

He reported that five extra staff were being employed to help with the changes and four had already been appointed.

Mr Thomas was responding to claims that the mental health service within the county was being reviewed and could reduce, or end, day care provision at the Stonebow Unit in Hereford, affecting 55 out-patients each week.

To comply with the National Service Framework for Mental Health, trusts across the country were having to look at how they provided services for those with acute mental health needs, he said.

The new service would focus on the needs of those people, some already attending the day care unit and others still to be identified. It would be phased in over a period of time, starting in March.

But Mr Thomas said people with less serious problems would not lose out. They would still be supported with day care services, either with the PCT or an independent organisation such as MIND.

Consultations were still taking place and an open forum for everyone involved was being planned for the near future.

Mr Thomas also dismissed claims that the changes were being made to help the PCT gain an extra star in national performance ratings.

They were being made, he said, to comply with rules of the National Service Framework, which applied to all trusts.