US consultancy firm McKinsey has said GPs will need to close hospital wards across the country if they are to make the £20bn efficiency savings required in the NHS by 2014.
McKinsey made headlines earlier this year for its controversial report on how NHS London could make the necessary savings.
Dr Nicholas Henke, director and head of healthcare practice at McKinsey, told delegates at a conference organised by right-wing think-tank Reform that the creation of GP consortiums was likely to lead to hospital ward closures across the country.
‘We need to believe these consortiums can be cheaper but equally effective, which makes it possible to close enough hospital services,' he said.
