A majority of Surrey GPs who participated in a secret ballot oppose proposals by a controversial healthcare review to axe Epsom Hospital’s acute services and believe that its future should be decided in a Surrey context.

MP Chris Grayling believes the result of the ballot, which he organised because he does not believe that "local doctors really agreed with what is going on", sounds the "death knell" for Epsom’s inclusion in the Better Services Better Value (BSBV) review.

The review, of acute services across Epsom, St Helier, Croydon, Kingston and St George’s hospitals, which recommended that Epsom should lose its A&E, maternity and children’s wards, was delayed last month, until "after the summer".

But residents, politicians and staff at the threatened hospital continue to remain deeply concerned about the uncertain future hanging over its vital services.

The secret ballot, which Mr Grayling instigated alongside other local MPs Sir Paul Beresford, Dominic Raab and Crispin Blunt, was sent to all GPs practicing in the new Surrey Downs commissioning area, with the result independently counted and verified by the returning officer at Mole Valley Council.

With a 49 per cent response rate of the 206 GPs balloted, the majority of the doctors who responded said they were against plans for Epsom Hospital to be downgraded and that they favour decisions about its future being taken in a Surrey, not a London, context.

The first question GPs were asked was ‘Are you in favour of the BSBV proposals to remove A&E and Maternity Services from Epsom Hospital?’  32 per cent of the GPs said ‘yes’, while 68 per cent said ‘no’.

The second question posed to the GPs was ‘Would you support a separate process to consider the future of Epsom Hospital as part of the Surrey and not South West London health economy?’  82 per cent said ‘yes’ and 18 per cent said ‘no.

Mr Grayling said the result of the ballot "clearly shows that we were right".

He said: "This vote shows that the controversial plans for Epsom are not just opposed by the public but by the doctors as well.

"This result marks the death knell of BSBV, and I hope that all involved will now call a halt and stop wasting public money on a review that, in the context of Epsom and Surrey, has never added up."