An independent inquiry will review the impact of accident and emergency closures in West London on Northwick Park Hospital.

The commission, which was announced yesterday, has been set up by Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing, Brent and Hounslow councils and is backed by Harrow Borough Council.

Led by barrister Michael Mansfield QC, it will look at impact of the closures of the A&E departments at Central Middlesex and Hammersmith Hospitals in September this year.

The councils say the closures have led to increased pressures on Northwick Park Hospital, leading to a shortage of beds for patients and an increase in waiting times.

The announcement came in the same week that it emerged ambulance crews were being told to call ahead to the before taking patients to the Watford Road hospital.

Harrow Council's cabinet member for public health Anne Whitehead said: “More than a hundred times in September seriously ill patients were waiting to be seen for over 15 minutes after being brought there by ambulance.

“We have had a mild autumn so far and the hospital evidently cannot cope.

“As we approach the colder winter months if there is no immediate action by the hospital and the government there is a real risk that lives could be lost.

“This situation has been made worse by cuts to social services, forcing people into hospital whereas before they could receive care and support in their homes."

Cllr Whitehead said she had been kept informed of the action Brent Council was taking and that it would share its results with Harrow when the inquiry concluded.

She added that she had written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to express her dismay, warning that a cold winter could create a "perfect storm" for Northwick Park's A&E department.

Board documents from the London North West Healthcare NHS Trust show Northwick Park Hospital’s new £21million A&E department is due to open on Wednesday December 10.

MP for Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas said: “Ambulances being told to call ahead is a very worrying development and I think shows the great pressure on Northwick Park.

“Winter is a very difficult time, and I hope the new A&E will help Northwick Park deal with the pressure.

“But the hospital is under incredible pressure and we will have to see if it is going to have any impact in the long term.

“I think it has been a perfect storm with the closure of the other A&E departments, cuts to local social care and cuts to facilities like the polyclinic Alexandra Avenue, which have all led to the massive pressure at Norwich Park.”

Figures from NHS England for the week to November 23, the trust saw 70.5 per cent of patients at its main accident and emergency departments within four hours, well short of the national target of 95 per cent.

In the London North West Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive’s report published last week, Simon Crawford said: “In the next few weeks, to help ease some of the pressure, we will open 20 extra beds at Northwick Park Hospital and 20 at Ealing Hospital.

“A second phase will see 24 beds opened at Northwick Park around February 2015, after the opening of the new A&E and the refurbishment of Fletcher Ward is complete.

“In the long term, we are putting forward plans for 60 additional beds at Northwick Park to help create more capacity within the hospital.”