Neath Port Talbot IVF clinic 'could open in July' 6 June 2013 Last updated at 07:58 An IVF clinic which was supposed to begin treating patients in 2011 could open at the end of July if it gets a licence from the IVF regulator. Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) health board said the clinic at Neath Port Talbot hospital was ready but it was waiting for approval to treat patients. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has been to inspect. An expert said couples were waiting 18 months for treatment after a contract with a private Swansea firm was ended. A spokeswoman for ABM health board said: "We're seeing people on an outpatient basis but we won't start the actual IVF until we have the licence. The HFEA visited us at the end of May so we're just waiting now for the decision on their part. The HFEA said the decision was "in the pipeline." "If it all goes to plan, they should have a licence by the end of July," a spokeswoman said, adding the final decision rested with the licensing committee. Ideological decision Until March 2011, women in the west Wales area were receiving treatment paid for by the NHS at the private London Women's Clinic (LWS) in Swansea. The Welsh Government decided to end all private involvement in the NHS and cancelled the contract, investing £1m in a new IVF facility at Neath Port Talbot which was supposed to open in the autumn of that year. However that did not happen, and patients were either referred to IVF Wales in Cardiff or sent to Bristol, which cost the Welsh NHS £500,000. The director of LWS, Peter Bowen-Simpkins, said the decision to end the contract was "ideological" and meant delays of 18 months for couples waiting to be seen in Cardiff instead.