Council leaders in west London have rejected NHS reforms because they fear A&E units at Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals will be depleted.

The number of acute hospitals in north west London will be reduced from nine to five under the North West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP).

So far the reduction has resulted in Hammersmith and Central Middlesex losing their A&E units , with Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals A&Es set to lose some of their services.

It is described in the STP report as an attempt to "consolidate acute services onto five sites."

'We will campaign until our last breath'

But Ealing Council leader Cllr Julian Bell and Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Cllr Stephen Cowan have refused to sign up to the STP.

The NHS North West London Collaboration of CCGs says the A&E Units will not be lost, but the two council leaders believe downgrading them from acute hospitals will be detrimental.

Cllr Bell said: "We refused to sign up to the STP plans because we do not support the closure of Ealing and Charing Cross A&Es and the downgrading of them to be local hospitals.

"We have made it abundantly clear that we will campaign until our last breath to save Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals.

"We do support some of the proposals for more integrated health and social care but we feel we will be punished for not signing up to these plans."

No "substantive changes" will be made to the A&Es at Ealing and Charing Cross until after a review.

'Different shape and form'

A spokesperson for NHS NWL CCCGs said: "The Secretary of State has made clear that an accident and emergency department will remain at Charing Cross and Ealing Hospitals though this may be in a different shape and form."

The plans fall under cost cutting measures from Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF), which closed Ealing maternity ward in July 2015.

It was reported in May earlier this year that hospitals in west London are set to lose 500 beds in a bid to close a £1.3bn budget gap and treat patients closer to home.

Ealing Hospital was referenced in the STP as the place where challenges are "most acute" because it is the smallest District General Hospital in London.

It has a financial deficit of over £30m and the "costs of staffing it safely are greater than the income for the site, meaning that the current clinical model cannot be financially sustainable."