AN MP has expressed her concern over the potential closure of a vital hospital for reproductive medicine.

Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East, says she is “disappointed” to learn that the Department for Reproductive Medicine at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester is threatened with closure.

She said: “The possible closure of any medical department is a cause for concern, but St Mary’s is home to an internationally-renowned fertility clinic and the NHS’s oldest IVF clinic.”

Ms Qureshi described it as being part of a larger pattern in Greater Manchester where IVF clinics are closing and fewer services being offered overall ­- which could have long-term negative effects for women.

She said: “When the budgets of CCGs cannot keep up with demand, then IVF is usually one of the first provisions to be reduced and, ultimately, passed to the private sector.

"However, while I understand why this is done in the short-term, it has long-term, negative repercussions.

“I have contacted Sarah Price, the interim chief officer of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, and asked if anything can be done to ensure that people in Greater Manchester have access to IVF, as set out in the NICE guidelines, and that the above-mentioned long-term, negative repercussions can be avoided.”