PATIENTS' watchdogs and Gwent health bosses are clashing over delays in asking people's views on plans for a multi-million pound hospital project in the Valleys.

Consultation on a scheme to revamp the Caerphilly county borough hospital and community services was to begin in January, but is now unlikely before next spring.

The postponement has angered Gwent Community Health Council (CHC), particularly its Caerphilly area committee, which is worried that the project's tortuous development will affect the public's views.

But Gwent Healthcare Trust chiefs insist the delay will help rather than hinder the progress of the plan.

Tudor Davies, the CHC's chairman, told the trust board that the council had written confirmation that consultation would begin in January, and he hoped this delay "is the last hiccough with this scheme".

"Do not give us dates you cannot meet. If you know the set date, please don't just move it forward three months. The CHC area committee members felt very strongly about this," he said.

There has been much discussion about the hospital project behind the scenes, involving trust and Local Health Board experts, and the CHC through its area committee, and its network of healthwatch groups across Caerphilly. Mr Davies said he thought the consultation so far had been the best he had been involved in, but it is time to widen the debate to the people of Caerphilly.

The hospital will cost £50-100 million and will replace Caerphilly District Miners and Ystrad Mynach Hospitals, and others in the county borough. Possible sites will be considered shortly, though a central location is most likely. The earliest start date is likely to be 2007.

Plans have been several years in the making and work had to be suspended last year because the project did not meet Royal College guidelines on provision of emergency services.

Trust chief executive Martin Turner said the plans are radical and mistakes in preparation will cause problems later on.

"This needs a lot of consultation and I think we have done this really well so far in Caerphilly," he said. "In that respect, the delays are appropriate because we are doing a lot of listening and amending the plans at an informal stage."