The Countess of Chester Hospital is no longer providing a service offering treatment for obesity.

Private company Phoenix Health ran a mainly NHS-funded weight loss centre in the new £13m Haygarth extension at the rear of the hospital led by the distinguished professor David Kerrigan.

Treatments on offer at the centre, which featured in the Channel 4 series NHS: £2 Billion a Week and Counting, included gastric band and gastric bypass surgery at a cost of about £6,000 per procedure.

Mark, from Glasgow, weighing 35 stones, went for a consultation with Professor David Kerrigan at the Chester centre about possible gastric bypass surgery as shown on the Channel 4 show £2bn a Week and Counting.

A letter from Phoenix Health to patients stated: “As you may be aware the Countess of Chester have taken the decision to no longer provide bariatrics as one of the services they offer.

“We will continue to see outpatients for the next 12 months. However from May the location will change from the Countess to the following: Princeway Health Centre, Frodsham.”

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One service user from Blacon, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Chronicle: “A lot of local people use that service. The funding is there but Countess have decided not to offer the service anymore.”

The 37-year-old, who lost 15 stones after a gastric bypass operation at a Wirral hospital followed by after-care at the Countess, added: “I’m surprised they’re closing it when they spent so much money opening it.”

Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester.

The patient, who went from 26 stones to 11 stones and from dress size 30 to size 12, is annoyed specialist treatment will no longer be available on her doorstep and the clinic for outpatients was now a bus ride away. She cautioned people against making judgments against obese people as every case was different and she was receiving treatment for her pituitary gland.

A statement issued by the Countess of Chester Hospital said it was ‘with regret’ the three year contract had expired although The Chronicle understands the hospital decided at short notice not to extend the contract.

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Chief executive Tony Chambers said: “The Countess of Chester no longer has a contract to provide regional bariatric services. The hospital and its bariatric doctors are working with NHS England specialised service commissioning leads to review and clinically prioritise the current patient waiting list it holds for these services.

"Arrangements are being made to establish capacity and appointment availability at other regional bariatric hospitals as a matter of priority.”

Phoenix Health did not wish to comment.

The £13m extension at the rear of the Countess of Chester Hospital which had included the regional bariatric service.

The Haygarth building where bariatrics was located - which opened just two years ago - is also home to a 21-bed intensive care unit and state-of-the-art endoscopy facilities. This unit supports patients receiving diagnostics and treatment for a wide range of conditions.

It also has multi-purpose clinical rooms that are used for outpatient clinics, including bariatric service clinics among others. The Countess says clinical space will continue to be 'fully used' for outpatient services.

Ward 41 within the hospital previously supported bariatric surgical work for inpatient stays. This space will now be used to support more routine surgical procedures locally, rather than transferring the patients to an alternative provider.

A spokesperson for NHS England North said: “We are working in partnership with the Countess of Chester Hospital (COCH) and the local Clinical Commissioning Groups to make sure patients get the services they need as soon as possible.

“Arrangements have already been made with neighbouring hospitals who provide bariatric surgery to take urgent cases. We are also in discussion with other bariatric surgery providers in neighbouring areas for those patients on the waiting list at the Countess of Chester to be accommodated as soon as possible."