Accident and Emergency patients and expectant mothers could be forced to travel out of Croydon for treatment following recommendations in an NHS report.

The service at Croydon University Hospital (CUH) is under threat after an NHS South West London report, published on March 1, recommended there be three emergency departments across the area, rather than four, as part of the Better Services Better Value review.

The review also recommended three maternity units in south west London rather than the current four, though clinicians do not rule out the possibility of a stand-alone midwife-led unit.

The hospitals included alongside CUH are St Georges in Tooting, Kingston Hospital and St Helier in Sutton.

MPs representing Croydon have vowed to fight to protect the A&E and Maternity wards.

Gavin Barwell, MP for Central Croydon said: "I am utterly opposed to the suggestion that Croydon could do without an A&E or Maternity ward and I will do all in my power to prevent it. For people for example living in New Addington it would be ludicrous to expect them to travel to St Helier or St Georges in an emergency."

Figures show the A&E and minor injuries unit dealt with more than patients in 2010/11 while maternity services deliver about 4300 babies annually.

Malcolm Wicks, MP for Croydon North said: "Of course it is important to be realistic about this kind of thing and I am all in favour a review to ensure the NHS can provide the most efficient service but it does seem to me the proposal to reduce A&E from four to three is deeply worrying."

A&E services should be sited with Maternity wards, the review recommended, suggesting the hospital chosen to lose one service would be likely to lose both.

A care centre for elective surgeries is planned, separate from emergency care and the review also recommends increasing services in the community with more services delivered in GP surgeries, community settings and people’s homes, including support for people with long term conditions.

Richard Ottaway, MP for South Croydon, said :"I would fight tooth and claw to make sure we save our service in Croydon. Croydon is the largest borough in London and it is unacceptable we should have to go miles through suburbs with poor communications to get to vital services."

Dr David Finch, local GP and Joint Medical Director for Better Services Better Value, said: "These are clinical recommendations only. No decisions have been made and our recommendations will be subject to full public consultation.

"By centralising maternity services we can help ensure every mother has one to one midwife care and a senior doctor on hand in case of emergencies. By centralising highly trained and specialist doctors and nurses we can treat more patients in bigger units and separate planned care from emergencies, making sure safety and quality is the best it can be for everyone."

Maternity figures 2010/11 (Babies delivered):

St Helier 3,071
St George's 5,207
Croydon 4,268
Kingston 5,512

A&E – overall patients treated

St Helier 81,855
St George's 147,352
Croydon 106,797
Kingston 82674

No. of A&E emergency consultants and then recommended amount

St Helier 4.5 - 12
St George's 21 - 16
Croydon 4.9 - 16
Kingston 10 - 16