More than 70 people attended a "Save Our NHS" meeting in Ealing where the public were promised action on a report criticising health care reforms.

Campaign group Ealing Save Our NHS held a public meeting on Tuesday (January 3) at the Town Hall, New Broadway, to rally support against reforms made through Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF).

The now Tory-approved programme, which enables Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to make key decisions, pushed through the closure of the Ealing Maternity Unit in July 2014 to consolidate its services into six hospital sites across north west London.

A highly critical report into SaHF released in December 2015, led by lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, was raised by campaigners and Ealing Council leader, Julian Bell, was asked to indicate what he will do with the information.

The report called for the SaHF programme to be halted, the maternity unit at Ealing Hospital to be re-opened and for local authorities to consider judicial review.

Councillor Bell then promised those in attendance that he would be attending a private meeting on February 10 with other council leaders to consider judicial review.

He said: "We will act to use our health scrutiny powers. I am to meet with all of the boroughs of the Mansfield Commission next week (February 10) to consider judicial review action."

Campaigners are fearful SaHF may close Ealing Hospital's A&E to replace it with an Urgent Care Centre (UCC), similar to what happened to Hammersmith A&E in September 2014.

But Ealing Tory leader Councillor Greg Stafford, who attended the meeting, said: "It is testament to our local community that many people are concerned about healthcare in the Borough.

"However, I was disappointed that many of the speakers couldn't differentiate between the hospital, the A&E and pediatric services - neither the hospital nor the A&E is closing.

"This was categorically confirmed by the Secretary of State when he overturned the local CCGs decision to close the A&E."

'Thought of being tired keeps me up at night'

Councillor Stafford said the decision to retain Ealing Hospital's A&E department was made by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2013, but details of its future operation depend on a review Sir Bruce Keogh is doing into A & E services across England.

He added the future of the paediatrics unit is yet to be decided.

Director of campaign group Health Emergency, John Lister, co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public and paediatric children's consultant, Tony O'Sullivan and Dr Ajaob Sandhu, a Southall campaigner, also made speeches.

And they were joined by junior doctor Ravi Ganepola, who detailed his opposition to the proposed contract changes from Mr Hunt to junior doctors.

He argued the proposals, which offer an increase in basic pay of 11%, are dangerous because he believes it does not recognise the difference between normal working hours and anti-social hours.

The Ealing Hospital worker, in his second year as a junior doctor, told the crowd: "As a human being, the thought that harm could come to you because I or one of my colleagues are tired keeps me up at night."

Conservative Councillor and Hanger Hill representative Joy Morrissey, who was critical of the Michael Mansfield report because Ealing Hospital's performance was joined together with Northwick Park Hospital, called the prospect of judicial review a "disgraceful use of public money."