MSPs voted in favour of the shake-up by 62 votes to 52 with five absentions.

The plan was opposed by the Scottish National Party and the Conservatives.

Labour backbencher Ken Macintosh resigned as a ministerial aide after opposing the Scottish Executive on the issue.

Two other Labour MSPs abstained but Culture, Sport and Tourism Minister Mike Watson voted with the executive despite previously opposing the plans.

"I recognise the strength of feeling round particular services in particular hospitals - but I have to take a view of what is right for Greater Glasgow as a whole

Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm

Mr Watson said he was bound by the convention of collective cabinet responsibility.

Earlier, the SNP had called on sports and tourism minister Mike Watson and other Labour MSPs to "follow their conscience" and vote against the measures.

Mr Watson, the MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, had opposed plans to downgrade the city's Victoria Infirmary in his constituency but said he would back the proposal because of collective Cabinet responsibility.

In a debate ahead of a vote on the changes, SNP health spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Watson had to choose between supporting his constituents or the Scottish Executive.

The plans would see the Victoria's accident and emergency work transferred to the Southern General as part of a plan to reduce city casualty departments from five to two and the closure of two hospitals.

Miss Sturgeon said: "The executive amendment offers nothing to alleviate the fears of people in Glasgow and in our hearts I am sure that every single Glasgow MSP knows that.

Independent review

"The people of Glasgow believe these proposals to be unacceptable. They have said so repeatedly."

The SNP motion condemned the restructuring of acute services as "unacceptable" and called for an independent review.

Miss Sturgeon said plans to remove all in-patient services from Stobhill Hospital and centralise them at Glasgow Royal Infirmary would not work because the hospital would not be able to cope.

She said the proposal to close the Victoria Infirmary and centralise all in-patient services at the Southern General were ill-advised because it would create the biggest hospital in the UK in an "entirely unacceptable" location.

Mike Watson will support the plans

And she said it was "incredible" that anyone could suggest reducing the city's casualty departments since the number of people using them had gone up year on year.

Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm defended the proposals.

"My conclusion, shared by many but by no means all in Glasgow, is that we should press ahead with the necessary and long-overdue process of modernisation and investment while at the same time setting in place an ongoing process of monitoring and review."

But Tory Bill Aitken, MSP for Glasgow Region, told parliament the proposals were "unacceptable" and denounced the consultation process which had taken place as "a sham".