A LYE surgeon is within touching distance of realising his dream to open a state-of-the-art hospital to help save lives in his homeland.

Atiq ur-Rehman, a consultant surgeon at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital, says he is over the moon to be on the verge of opening Bewal International Hospital in his home village of Bewal, Tehsil Gujar Khan, Pakistan.

The £1m five-storey charity hospital - which has taken nearly five years to build and fundraise for - is now virtually complete.

Although not fully operational until the New Year, Mr Rehman and his team of volunteers have already started offering limited outpatient and basic medical care plus antenatal and maternity facilities.

The hospital has even seen its first baby born.

Mr Rehman, from Chapel Street in Lye, said: “This was my dream which has become a reality.

“I’m really very grateful to everyone who has supported the project; it’s a wonderful achievement.”

He described the first baby's birth as an “amazing” surprise, and he added: “We have all the facilities but we’re not officially open yet, it just happened - this woman just came in and she was in pain and within a few hours we had delivered the baby.”

Mr Rehman, who has dedicated the hospital to the memory of his late father Abdul Rehman - a popular figure in the Lye community, said the completion of the first wave of services was “just the start”.

He hopes ultimately to offer advanced medical care to 300,000 impoverished villagers in the region of Pothohar - which is around 50 miles from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Father-of-two Mr Rehman added: “This whole project is a symbol for Bewal and the wider district, it will be something for these poor people who can’t afford any care or treatment.

“Once the maternity unit’s fully in operation - that’s where we’re going to make the full impact.”

He said in under developed areas such as Bewal one in 20 women suffer complications during childbirth - resulting in the death of the mother or their child.

But the kind-hearted surgeon said: “We should be able to carry out C sections soon to prevent those preventable deaths.”

The first phase of the hospital will be fully up and running after Christmas.

Extra facilities and services will be added as part of a second phase - which Mr Rehman is hoping to complete by the end of 2011.

To find out more about the project visit website www.bewal.com/hospital