MENTAL health patients in Herefordshire have been promised their care will improve if a switch in NHS control works as planned.

From April NHS bosses in Worcestershire will run the services for the county, instead of them being managed by Gloucestershire NHS Trust.

But patients are being reassured that the same staff they have become reliant on will still be providing their care and support.

That was ‘critically’ important, say Herefordshire branch of the mental health charity, MIND.

In strategic terms, NHS England see Worcestershire and Herefordshire as a more sensible combination for health provision for the area.

The switch means the contract for mental health care for the county will switch to

Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. but the same local staff will be delivering those services.

The Trust said: “This decision will bring more opportunities for teams to build on these existing partnerships to strengthen local services and improve patient care.”

Staff are now talking to local communities to develop the first joint Herefordshire and Worcestershire Mental Health Strategy which will be published next year.

Key services provided in the county include the Stonebow in-patient unit at Hereford County Hospital, a crisis outreach team, care for patients in the community, work on preventing suicides, and therapy.

Trust Chief Executive Sarah Dugan said: “We believe that having one provider for mental health and learning disability services across Herefordshire and Worcestershire will increase our resilience, particularly in the smaller specialist services, whilst enabling us to continue to share and develop best practice and promote high quality services in local communities.

“We are really looking forward to working with the staff in Herefordshire and building on the relationships we have developed over the last few years so together we continue to deliver a high standard of mental health and learning disability care to the people of Herefordshire.”

Paul Roberts, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are working closely with Worcestershire Health and Care Trust to manage a smooth and successful handover over the coming months.”