Campaigners are planning to protest outside a public meeting tonight to highlight the "hypocrisy" of MP Chris Grayling over his support for Epsom Hospital.

Richard Donnelly, co-organiser of the Save Our Hospitals campaign, said the group is against cuts to all hospitals across South West London, including Epsom Hospital.

He said the group will be protesting outside the meeting, called by Mr Grayling to help protect threatened Epsom Hospital, because they disagree with government ministers backing NHS cuts and then acting to "protect the hospitals in their own patches". 

Mr Donnelly said: "The reason we have called a protest is because hospitals should not be played off against each other.  We should be against all cuts across the whole of South West London. 

"MPs want to protect the hospitals in their own patch and we want unity against this.

"It’s the hypocrisy of politicians like Chris Grayling and Ed Davey who sit around the cabinet table and then say they want to protect the hospitals in their constituencies.

"Chris Grayling said last December that one of the options for Epsom hospital was privatisation along the lines of Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire.  Any privatisation of the NHS should be opposed.

"There has been a 24 per cent cut in the hospital budget. The Government and David Cameron said funding for the NHS would be ring-fenced before the election.

"Clearly him and other people around him at the time, like Chris Grayling, thought it would be possible at the time. What’s changed over the last three years that now it’s not viable?

"We need to start building a local network and campaign with which we can pressurise the government."

The group has slammed the Better Services Better Value (BSBV) review, as part of which acute services across Epsom, St Helier, Croydon, Kingston and St George’s hospitals are being assessed, and believes it should be rejected as it is a "sham consultation".

Save Our Hospitals will also be protesting in Kingston on February 16, as part of a London-wide NHS Week of Action from February 9 to 16.

The meeting tonight, to be held from 7pm to 9pm in the main hall at Blenheim High School, in Longmead Road, Epsom, will include a presentation from the BSBV team.