A LONG WEIGHT FOR FAT CENTRE.

Byline: FIONNUALA BOURKE

IT was heralded as an answer to the nation's growing obesity problems. But the opening of a pounds 20 million private hospital to help overweight people has been delayed for almost a year.

Even a new completion date is still six months away.

The National Hospital for Obesity Surgery had hoped to launch in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and start treating patients from last April.

But a series of controversies, including criticisms of proposed surgical techniques and the resignation of its medical director, mayhave contributed to the lengthy delay.

The company behind the scheme, the Hospital Group, claims that it will still go ahead and insists the hospital will be open for business by the end of AugustBut a potential patient told the Sunday Mercury: 'The opening of this hospital seems to have been dragging on forever.

'I am overweight and I could benefit from surgery if I could afford the cost - but I can't wait forever.'

The medical unit, believed to be the UK's first private obesity hospital, had hoped to carry out 2,000 operations in its first year.

Proposed treatments included the 'balloon', in which a sack filled with saline solution is inserted into the stomach to stem hunger pangs.

Other techniques on offer included a gastric pacemaker - called Gastropace - which stimulates the stomach with electric currents.

But obesity experts have criticised both procedures.

They claim that gastric balloons, which can cost pounds 3,500, can cause ulcers and that more research is neededon the gastric pacemaker, priced at aroundpounds 12,500. Both procedures are aimed at the seriously overweight - and the Midlands has its fair share of them.

Last weekBirminghamand the Black Country were branded Britain's fourth-fattest region in new Government statistics.

The hospital was originally to be built as a conventional private clinic, but was redesigned after gastric surgeon and medical director Phil Thomas persuaded owners of the need for a specialist obesity unit.

But Mr Thomas resigned from the project unexpectedly last March, claiming he had been approached to run a similar project elsewhere.

He said: 'I wanted to make sure I had left before any clinical work had been done. It is not because I have grave concerns - there were lots of little things that all came together at once. 'I have been approached by other people and I will be doing a similar thing nationally. It wasa sensible time for me to do this.

'I have other medical interests that the hospital wasn't keen on me pursuing.'

The National Centre for Cosmetic Surgery, also owned by the Hospital Group, has experienced problems in the last year as well.

Giulio Gherardini, an Italian surgeon working at the Oldbury-based centre, was banned from practising by the General Medical Council last May following a complaint that he botched a nose job.

The Birmingham complainant, Niall Sheehan, has since been awarded a pounds 13,000 pay-out.

A Hospital Group spokeswoman refused to comment in detail on the reasons for the obesity clinic delays.

But she said: 'We had hoped to open last year, but this has now been put back to this year.

'We hope to be up and fully running by the end of August

CAPTION(S):

DELAYED OPENING: the National Hospital for Obesity Surgery in Bromsgrove