THE much celebrated review of A Picture of Health proposals which would see the end of Queen Mary’s Sidcup, as an acute hospital, has backed the changes.

A clinical cabinet of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich commissioning GPs has says A Picture of Health (APOH) meets the four tests put forward by the government when it ordered the review.

NHS London, a supporter of APOH, will now review the cabinet’s work.

If, as seems likely, NHS London accepts the review was done properly, it will signal the end of any hoped-for reprieve for Queen Mary’s.

The decision was unanimous and concluded: “We are clear the reconfiguration proposals should be implementes as soon as possible to secure a strong and viable health economy and avoid deterioration in local services.”

Bexley councillors are “incandescent” that public responses to the changes, gathered by its health scrutiny committee and forwarded for consideration by the review panel, were not taken into account by the review.

Instead, NHS London will look at them when it scrutinises the clinical cabinet’s work.

Bexley Council’s health scrutiny committee is due to discuss the review and the temporary closure of Queen Mary’s emergency services at its meeting tomorrow night.

The council extensively sought public comments after being assured the deadline for comments had been extended until October 21, to take account of the short timescale.

But committee chairman Councillor Ross Downing and council leader, Councillor Teresa O’Neill were told in an email yesterday (October 19) the clinical cabinet had already reached its decision on October 6.

Cllr Downing said she was “incandescent with anger” that a decision had been made without regard to the public comments.

She said public opinion in Bexley on APOH was being disregarded for a second time and the decision was being made solely on a financial and not a clinical basis.

Cllr Downing added: “I cannot see this going any further.”

The clinical cabinet said, in its view, the majority of GPs across the three boroughs had been consulted and had accepted the clinical case for APOH.

It said it felt there had been extensive public consultation, despite contrasting views about the process.

The cabinet added further work would be done to correct and misunderstandings and factual inaccuracies.

Members accepted APOH would have some negative impacts on Bexley residents, especially the withdrawal of acute services from Sidcup, but said people in Bromley and Greenwich would not be affected.

It said there were also lots of positives in the APOH plans.