TWO double-decker buses full of passengers add up to an awful lot of weight.
But that is the amount staff at Rotherham Institute for Obesity (RIO) has helped patients lose in the eight years since it opened.
About 7,000 RIO patients have collectively lost 33.7 tonnes since 2009.
But that total will not be added to – at least, not by NHS patients.
Centre director Dr Matt Capehorn closed the doors of the Doncaster Gate facility as a publicly-funded service for the final time on Wednesday after council bosses pulled the financial plug and NHS Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group said it could not step in to help.
RIO patients and staff came together for a closing-down party and to share their success stories.
Dr Capehorn said: “It’s been a day of mixed emotions. It has been fantastic seeing all of our success stories and reminding ourselves about how great the service was but equally it’s a very sad day because we now can’t help others in the same way.”
RIO was forced to close after Rotherham Borough Council withdrew the £300,000 funding it needed to stay open for the next financial year. People will now only be able to access weight management services there if they pay.
Article from The Rotheram Advertiser, 14 July 2017