THE future of a closure threatened Glasgow hospital must be debated in Holyrood to provide answers on its future according to a Glasgow MSP.

Paul Martin, Provan Labour MSP has called on the First Minister and Health Secretary to assure him and patients that Lightburn hospital in the east of the city will not be closed.

The Evening Times revealed last month how health board officials had included closure of the hospital in a ‘secret document’ to meet a target of £60m of cuts.

Mr Martin said Nicola sturgeon, who saved the hospital from closure five years ago when she was health secretary, and Shona Robison had failed to guarantee the future of the facility.

He said: “Next year, Lightburn Hospital will mark fifty years of treating sick people in the east end of Glasgow. I want the First Minister to give me a cast iron guarantee that Lightburn will be treating people in the local community for many years to come, which is why I am calling for a debate in Holyrood.

“I am not satisfied with the answers I have received from either Nicola Sturgeon or Shona Robison to date about the leaked health board paper which earmarks Lightburn Hospital for closure.

“Both the First Minister and the Health Secretary are happy to talk about Lightburn’s past, but neither of them can give me any assurances about its future.”

He has asked several questions in the Scottish Parliament and Ms Robison has said the document was a discussion paper and no proposals for the future of Lightburn hospital have been sent to her.