A state of the art unit at Heartlands Hospital is providing tailored and cost-effective care and for obese patients.

The £10 million weight management clinic and research centre uses a multidisciplinary team including physicians, dieticians, surgeons and psychiatrists in order to tackle obesity across the West Midlands.

Dr Shahrad Taheri, the clinical director for the obesity clinic, says: “Within the West Midlands we have some of the highest levels obesity in the UK, we have a major problem in this area. There are a lot of problems associated with obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and eventually strokes and heart attacks.”

By bringing together different experts the clinic aims to minimise the separation between primary and secondary care.

Dr Prasad Yemparala, consultant physician at Birmingham Highgate Clinic, says: “The barrier needs to be lifted between the patients and the doctors".

The unit will allow those with weight management issues to review the different options available to them such as exercise regimes, planned diets and if necessary weight loss surgery.

"Often people are looking for a lot more weight reduction than you can actually achieve through healthy changes, and that’s why we sometimes refer them onto secondary care for surgery," says Helen Mercer, a dietician at Highgate clinic.

Consultant surgeon Paul Super adds: "Obesity surgery doesn’t just make people look and feel better but it treats impossible conditions, which in the end saves tax payers money".

Due for review February 2013