The fate of one hospital in SW London will be decided next week when a panel recommend which should lose its vital services.

As part of the NHS Better Services Better Value review, either St Helier, Croydon University or Kingston hospitals, will lose their Accident and Emergency and maternity departments.

A panel of 60 parties, made up of representatives from each hospital trust, local authority members and community representatives, will convene on May 9 to score each hospital as part of the decision into which should lose the services.

St Helier, whose merger plans with St George’s Hospital in Tooting collapsed earlier this year, has the smallest A&E and obstetrics and the fewest users.

The panel’s recommendation and a financial appraisal will be considered by the Better Services Better Value programme board who will make a recommendation to the joint board of SW London PCTs on June 7.

A final recommendation will be put to public consultation, which is expected to take about three months.

In 2010/11, St Helier’s A&E and maternity wards treated 84,926 people, Croydon University treated 110,065 patients and 88,186 were treated at Kingston Hospital.

Councillor Mary Burstow, chairwoman of Sutton Council's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, said: “On May 10 at 6.30pm at the Civic Offices a Joint Scrutiny meeting will be held. We will be quizzing the Better Services Better Value team on progress so far.

“It’s a public meeting and I would welcome anyone to come along and listen to what [Better Services Better Value] have to say.

“I think it’s very important that the Better Services Better Value team meet the people their decisions are going to affect.”

The meeting will be focused on the future rather than discussing what decision is made by the Better Services Better Value review.

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