A bid to have plans to close a Glasgow hospital and other major health service changes halted has been rejected by officials.

Earlier this month the Evening Times revealed a leaked report planned for the closure of Lightburn hospital in the east end, in-patient beds at the Homeopathic hospital in Glasgow and moving some child and maternity services from Inverclyde and Paisley to the city.

The board has to find saving of almost £70m and the moves were part of a package to save tens of millions of pounds.

Read more: Hospital closure and maternity and children's shake up to save health board £70m

Councillors form Glasgow, Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde on the health board spoke out against the plans and told the officials they were wasting their time as the Scottish Government would not allow the changes.

The plan would shut the remaining two wards at Lightburn and move rehabilitation services to Gartnavel.

The seven remaining in-patient beds at the CIC at Gartnavel would close and be a day and outpatient centre only.

The birthing unit at Inverclyde would close and mums to be travel to the RAH in Paisley and birthing services at the Vale of Level would close and move to the RAH and he Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark McMillan proposed an amendment to remove the changes that affected Lightburn, the Centre for Integrative Care, which includes the Homeopathic service, changes to maternity at the Vale of Leven in Dunbartonshire and to at Inverclyde.

Read more: NHS workload and budget pressures leads to £70m cuts plan for city

Mr McMillan said he wanted to hear clinical evidence now to justify the changes, not months later as planned.

He said the Scottish Government would not approve changes and wanted to avoid wasting time and money on a public consultation.

Mr McMillan said: “I am being asked to approve service changes that are not detailed. We have been up this hill many times before. You are not going to get it past the Scottish Government.

“Why have a consultation, lead everyone up the hill, only to have it reversed.”

He was backed by Glasgow City councillor, Matt Kerr, who said it was “destined to failure”.

He said: “This paper is a delivery plan that cannot be delivered.”

Mr Kerr, said: “That’s the political reality and we need to consider it.”

However the board voted 17 to five in favour of taking the proposals further for consultation and to be reconsidered again in August.

Read more: Maternity units, children's and elderly wards could close in west of Scotland, according to leaked document

Several clinicians and the chief executive said that they shouldn’t concern themselves with what the Government may or may not decide.

Robert Calderwood, chief executive said: “Clinical governance lies with you (the board) not the parliament.”

Ross Finnie, board member and former Scottish Government minister when he was a LibDem MSP, said the board shouldn’t worry about the politics.

He said: “I can’t understand how as a health board, if it believes a policy, if politicians don’t like it, we will find something less better but more politically expedient. That’s a decision for the politicians.”