Politicians and doctors warned St Helier Hospital faces cuts to frontline services, including its accident and emergency department, from a proposed hospital merger.

Care minister and Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Burstow, Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake, Sutton Council's health spokesman Colin Stears and a body of local GPs came out this week to call for the Government to put on hold the proposed merger between the hospital and St George's hospital in Tooting.

They fear the merger could become a "hostile take-over" that sees St Helier asset stripped as it battles a multi-millionpound defecit.

Their calls come amid growing concerns the merger with another hospital could put the hospital's maternity ward, neo natal unit, renal unit and A&E department at long-term risk.

St George's Hospital stated it had no plans to alter any services at the hospital.

But Sutton's political establishment still united to call for the merger to be put on hold, and the Royal Marsden be considered as an alternative partner.

Mr Stears said: "We have real concerns that when the big picture of services across south London are reviewed including the possible merger with St Georges, the A&E and maternity units at St Helier risk being downgraded.

“We need clarity about what guarantees there are for local services for local people in terms of their acute healthcare needs.”

Mr Burstow said: "The future of St Helier depends crucially on support from clinicians, without that essential goodwill, a merger will become a hostile take-over. From my discussions with consultants, it is clear to me that the relationships between the two hospitals are toxic, hardly the basis for a genuine marriage in the public interest."

Mr Brake said: "The priority here is to get the best deal for St Helier, not the fastest one. The Government has just completed a major national NHS listening exercise, local health bosses must do the same; stop, pause, take on board people’s concerns and come back with a better offer.”

St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust was the only organisation to bid to offer to join St Helier after the Government ruled it needed to merge with another organisation to survive.

The Tooting hospital will now make a formal tender to show its suitability to take over the hospital.

Commentating on the suggestion that St Helier could lose services if it merged with St George’s, Jan Sawkins, independent Chair of the Transaction Board said: “The deadline for St George’s to submit their bid is 16 September 2011, so it is far too early for anyone to suggest they know what their plans are. "However, any organisation interested in partnering with the Trust’s hospitals will be required to run all the services that they currently provide. Any proposals to change services in the future would, of course, be subject to appropriate legal public consultation.”

Commenting on the suggestion that the process is being rushed and that a possible merger with St George’s lacked support, she said: “This process started in December 2010 and we are working to a timetable which will ensure the Trust’s hospitals achieve foundation trust status by the Department of Health’s deadline.

“The timetable was shared widely at the very start of the process, including with our local MPs, GPs and councillors. In addition, we have continued to work with them as we move forward, and have met with them on many occasions to keep them briefed and up-to-date.”