Jeremy Hunt MP, secretary of state for health, has referred the controversial plans to close four A&E departments to an independent panel to review.

Given the scale of the changes and Ealing council’s referral to him, he has asked the panel to carry out a full review of the plans. The panel is expected to complete its report by September, after which the health secretary will consider its findings before making a decision.

Ealing’s health and adult social services scrutiny panel unanimously voted in March to refer controversial plans to the government.

Councillors were angry that NHS bosses decided to push through plans to downgrade four local hospitals, claiming that they would be made at a scale and speed never tested before in NHS history.

Councillors were also concerned that the plans were reliant on improvements in primary care that have not yet been achieved and without robust evidence they are safe.

Proposals to shut A&E services at Ealing, Central Middlesex, Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals were announced last summer resulting in widespread opposition by people from across north west London.

Under the current plans the four hospitals affected would no longer accept 'blue light' emergency cases - meaning parts of the borough would be significantly further away from life-saving treatment than they are now.

Council leader Julian Bell said: "This is good news for everyone who is campaigning to ‘Save our Hospitals’ and protect our vital emergency services. Accident and emergency services are under increasing strain with more people using them than ever before."

"After reading a report in the Mail on Sunday about the increase in deaths in the Newark area following the closure of A&E services, our level of concern has increased and we want these plans scrapped."

"NHS bureaucrats seem hell-bent on ignoring the views of the people of this borough and so I’m pleased that this panel will now review what is proposed. As these plans do not meet the four basic tests set before hospital services can be reconfigured we believe Jeremy Hunt will have no choice but to overturn the NHS decision."

All political parties on the council are against the NHS proposals.