The district general hospital - epitomised in the television series Holby City - may soon become a relic of the past as patients turn to private providers for their healthcare, according to a top-level report being prepared in Whitehall.

The likely end of the district hospital underlines the scale of change in the National Health Service as it adapts to government reforms. More private providers of non-emergency care and the shift of more care and diagnosis outside hospital means "the current configuration of acute hospital services is likely to be unsustainable in many parts of the country", according to a late draft of the report seen by the Financial Times.