Millions of A&E patients 'should just see their GP' to avoid crippling emergency services Professor Keith Willet says NHS will 'start to address the demand' 6.5million people needlessly queue at A&E Waiting times are the worst they have been for 30 years Millions of patients going for treatment in A&E should see their GP, a paramedic or chemist instead, says a senior NHS official. Professor Keith Willett, who is leading a review of accident and emergency services, said up to 30 per cent of those who use casualty units would be better treated elsewhere. But he admitted that 6.5million patients who needlessly queue at A&E are frustrated by long waits for a GP appointment or lack of access to out-of-hours care. Choices: Patients should see their GP as oppose to clogging up A&E according to a senior NHS official In an interview to be broadcast on Sky News today, Professor Willett says the NHS review will "start to address the demand" by improving primary care, which he says clearly "did not make itself available" to some patients. England's A&E departments were in crisis last winter. Waiting times were the worst for nine years, with more than 300,000 patients waiting four hours or more. Professor Willett's review, published this autumn, will state that all A&E units must always have a consultant available, and other senior doctors on duty, including elderly care specialists. Foreign doctors working in Britain will face language tests if concerns are raised about their fitness to practise. It follows a string of scandals in which overseas doctors have been blamed for poor care. Currently only those from outside the European Union are given strict language tests, but from next year the doctors" regulator, the General Medical Council, will test all applicants. In addition, those who are already working can be tested if they are going through disciplinary proceedings. Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "Overseas doctors make a hugely valuable contribution to the NHS but it is clear that tougher checks are needed." Paramedics will be sent to treat more patients at home or by the roadside so they do not need hospital care, and patients will be told to ring the 111 helpline to see what care is appropriate. "We have to manage the situation and take away from emergency teams those patients who could be managed by other parts of the system," he said. We know that 15 to 30 per cent of people who turn up to be treated at A&E could have been treated in general practice. We can look at the way primary care is available to people, by changing the way we deliver services. He asked the public to "understand the issues" and consider calling for advice or contacting a GP or pharmacist. But Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, said family surgeries are "bursting at the seams," and the 111 number is not fit for purpose. "There is no doubt there are patients who attend A&E who would be better treated in a community setting, but NHS 111 has been fuelling the problem by inappropriately advising patients to go to hospital," he said. That needs to be improved so people get quality advice from clinicians, not untrained people using a computer program. The Government has given the NHS an extra £500million over two years to find short-term solutions to the likely rise in demand for emergency care in the winter.