Sutton's doctors have been told MPs' plea for another vote over St Helier Hospital's future is not relevant after the controversial review was delayed yet again.

The Better Services Better Value (BSBV) healthcare review is set to be redesigned for a third time after Surrey GPs suddenly pulled Epsom Hospital out of the review on Friday.

It means a consultation on plans that could threaten services at St Helier Hospital will not go ahead as planned but doctors are set to meet and discuss how to take the project to cut costs in the area's health provision forward.

Surrey Downs Commissioning Group held a ballot of its GPs that showed that 74 per cent of them were against BSBV’s proposals to axe Epsom and St Helier’s accident and emergency, maternity and paediatric departments.

Sutton GPs have already voted in favour of BSBV's downgrade plans, but now MPs Tom Brake and Paul Burstow want them to follow in Surrey’s footsteps and hold a secret ballot on whether BSBV should continue.

But Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) made a pre-emptive strike yesterday and wrote to all its practices stating it felt the MPs’ ballot was no longer relevant.

The group has angered campaigners against the cuts to St Helier hospital by backing BSBV to go to public consultation and urging Surrey's GPs to do the same.

Without the support of its GPs Epsom Hospital cannot be involved in the review, which includes south west London Hospitals - St Helier, Kingston, Croydon University and St George’s.

Epsom’s withdrawal poses big questions for the future of St Helier Hospital which operates under the same trust as Epsom.

In December 2010 it was decided that Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust should split because they did not have the financial ability to become a foundation trust together - something which all trusts have to do by 2014.

Mergers were proposed for both hospitals - with St Helier and St George’s, in Tooting, and Epsom with Ashford and St Peter’s, in Surrey, but both collapsed.

When the BSBV review first started in 2011, without Epsom’s involvement, it proposed just to downgrade St Helier while Croydon University, Kingston and St George’s were upgraded. Following the collapse of Epsom’s merger in November 2012 it was brought into the review and earmarked for downgrade along with St Helier.

Epsom's exit from the review could mean BSBV returns to its original plans just to downgrade St Helier. However, BSBV would not be drawn on the options facing the region’s hospitals and said only "bold and transformative change" would enable high quality yet free health services to continue.

Tom Brake, the MP for Carshalton and Wallington, said: "The ballot in my view is extremely relevant - we need a clear statement from Sutton’s GPs on where they stand on BSBV’s proposals. We need a clear statement from them that they oppose BSBV as it would kill the project and that’s what we want to see."

Your Local Guardian: Mps Paul Burstow and Tom Brake

Sutton MPs Paul Burstow and Tom Brake

Mr Burstow said: "BSBV has been a dead man walking for some time and this result is, frankly, another nail in this sorry saga's coffin. I'm delighted that GPs in Epsom have voted this way because it explodes the lie that this is clinically driven and that it can only be one way."

St Helier was promised a £219m redevelopment in March 2010 and a giant banner, with the words "coming soon", still adorns the front of the hospital to this day - despite the BSBV review throwing it into doubt.

The BSBV statement said: "We are taking stock of the fact that Surrey Downs CCG has chosen not to remain part of the BSBV programme, but we understand and respect their position.

"Only bold and transformative change to how services are delivered will enable us to continue providing a high quality yet free at the point of use health service.

"We recognise that the status quo is even less of an option now than it was when the BSBV programme started."

Your Local Guardian: Epsom and St Helier chief exec Matthew Hopkins

Epsom and St Helier Hospital Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins

Epsom and St Helier Hospital Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins continued with the trust’s stance of 'business as usual' and said: "As we have done throughout this process, we are committed to working with the BSBV team and our other healthcare partners, in particular our local commissioning groups, to ensure that we provide high quality, safe, accessible and compassionate care to the people we serve - now and in the future."