Young Britons are heading straight to overextended Accident & Emergency departments because they are unable to get suitable appointments with GPs, according to a new report. It comes as waiting times in A&E departments hit record levels for the second week running with tens of thousands of patients left for up to 19 hours. A report by Citizens Advice found people aged 18 to 34 are more than twice as likely to visit A&E departments or walk-in centres than those aged 55 and over. Scroll down for video . Young Britons are heading straight to overextended Accident & Emergency departments because they are unable to get suitable appointments with GPs . The report revealed that one in eight people (12 per cent) aged between 18 and 34 has gone to A&E or an NHS walk-in centre when they have not been able to get a GP appointment - but the number was only one in 17 among people aged 55 or over. The charity’s analysis of NHS GP Patient Survey data found young adults are also much less likely than older people to be able to see a GP when they need to. Based on answers from 900,000 people across England, the report found younger adults were more than twice as likely to not be able to secure an appointment with their GP at a convenient time as those aged 65 and over. It also found levels of satisfaction and trust in their family doctors were radically lower than among elderly people, with less than a third rating them as 'very good'. In contrast, people aged 75 are twice as likely to rate their service as 'very good'. Citizens Advice said the findings showed that access to GPs 'isn't meeting the needs of younger adults'. It comes after figures released earlier this week showed hospital waiting time targets were being missed as they struggle to cope with a record number of admissions. One in eight people aged between 18 and 34 has gone to A&E or an NHS walk-in centre when they have not been able to get a GP appointment - but the number was only one in 17 among people aged 55 or over . NHS England said just 89.8 per cent of patients were seen within four hours last week, compared with the target of 95 per cent. More than 10,000 patients were forced to wait longer than four hours for a bed once a decision was made to admit them into hospital from A&E. Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'GP services need to keep up with 21st century lifestyles. 'Long working hours means it can be difficult for younger adults to get an appointment with a GP, let alone one at a convenient time. 'As a result some people are struggling to access the medical advice they need. 'It is in the NHS' interest to get primary healthcare for younger adults right and ensure services fit around busy working lives. 'A failure to meet their needs piles more pressure on budgets and is an inefficient use of scarce NHS resources. Dr Barbara Hakin, of NHS England, has urged the public not to go to A&E or call an ambulance unless it is a genuinely urgent case . 'Many GPs are already transforming the way they provide services and embracing new technologies. It is vital that they keep up with how people of all ages want to engage with public services including healthcare.' Citizens Advice said almost 4,500 people contacted the charity last year with issues about GP services. It found that 30 per cent of young adults surveyed had found their experience of GPs to be 'very good', compared with 64 per cent of those aged 75 and over. One in seven people (14 per cent) aged 18 to 34 could not see a GP last time they tried to make an appointment. One in eight (13 per cent) of younger adults did not get any professional help for a health problem after being unable to see their GP. Dr Barbara Hakin, National Director of Commissioning Operations for NHS England, said: 'Pressures on our A&E services continue to increase significantly. 'We have admitted more people to hospital this week to take care of them than in any previous week on record. I want to pay tribute to the staff dealing with that – they are doing a brilliant job. 'While we are now below the extremely high waiting time standards that we set ourselves, the service we provide remains robust. 'The NHS’s waiting times for urgent treatment are among the best for any major country that measures them. 'Looking ahead, we need to transform the NHS so it is better able to cope with demand, as set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. 'We have today set out how we plan to drive this forward next year, allocating additional NHS funding to every part of the country. 'As we come into the holiday period, it is important people continue to look after themselves and nip problems in the bud. They should ensure they have proper medication, get their flu jab if they have not done so, and get advice from their pharmacist.' The study suggests the NHS is still unable to cater for a working population that wants family doctors to be available at times to fit in with the lives of busy working people. Fifty walk-in centres have shut down since 2010, and there are now only 185 left in England. From January 2015, GPs will be allowed to move away from the catchment area approach to registering patients. This means that GPs can choose to register patients near their place of work rather than near their homes, though they won’t have to offer this option. And as of March next year, all surgeries must have an online booking system, instead of the specific times at which to call to make appointments that many GP surgeries have.
People aged 18 to 34 twice as likely to visit A&E than those aged over 55 .
Based on report by Citizens Advice from 900,000 people across country .
Comes as A&E waiting times hit record levels for second week running .
Charity says GP services 'need to keep up with 21st century lifestyles'
Young Britons are heading straight to overextended Accident & Emergency departments because they are unable to get suitable appointments with GPs, according to a new report. It comes as waiting times in A&E departments hit record levels for the second week running with tens of thousands of patients left for up to 19 hours. A report by Citizens Advice found people aged 18 to 34 are more than twice as likely to visit A&E departments or walk-in centres than those aged 55 and over. Scroll down for video . Young Britons are heading straight to overextended Accident & Emergency departments because they are unable to get suitable appointments with GPs . The report revealed that one in eight people (12 per cent) aged between 18 and 34 has gone to A&E or an NHS walk-in centre when they have not been able to get a GP appointment - but the number was only one in 17 among people aged 55 or over. The charity’s analysis of NHS GP Patient Survey data found young adults are also much less likely than older people to be able to see a GP when they need to. Based on answers from 900,000 people across England, the report found younger adults were more than twice as likely to not be able to secure an appointment with their GP at a convenient time as those aged 65 and over. It also found levels of satisfaction and trust in their family doctors were radically lower than among elderly people, with less than a third rating them as 'very good'. In contrast, people aged 75 are twice as likely to rate their service as 'very good'. Citizens Advice said the findings showed that access to GPs 'isn't meeting the needs of younger adults'. It comes after figures released earlier this week showed hospital waiting time targets were being missed as they struggle to cope with a record number of admissions. One in eight people aged between 18 and 34 has gone to A&E or an NHS walk-in centre when they have not been able to get a GP appointment - but the number was only one in 17 among people aged 55 or over . NHS England said just 89.8 per cent of patients were seen within four hours last week, compared with the target of 95 per cent. More than 10,000 patients were forced to wait longer than four hours for a bed once a decision was made to admit them into hospital from A&E. Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'GP services need to keep up with 21st century lifestyles. 'Long working hours means it can be difficult for younger adults to get an appointment with a GP, let alone one at a convenient time. 'As a result some people are struggling to access the medical advice they need. 'It is in the NHS' interest to get primary healthcare for younger adults right and ensure services fit around busy working lives. 'A failure to meet their needs piles more pressure on budgets and is an inefficient use of scarce NHS resources. Dr Barbara Hakin, of NHS England, has urged the public not to go to A&E or call an ambulance unless it is a genuinely urgent case . 'Many GPs are already transforming the way they provide services and embracing new technologies. It is vital that they keep up with how people of all ages want to engage with public services including healthcare.' Citizens Advice said almost 4,500 people contacted the charity last year with issues about GP services. It found that 30 per cent of young adults surveyed had found their experience of GPs to be 'very good', compared with 64 per cent of those aged 75 and over. One in seven people (14 per cent) aged 18 to 34 could not see a GP last time they tried to make an appointment. One in eight (13 per cent) of younger adults did not get any professional help for a health problem after being unable to see their GP. Dr Barbara Hakin, National Director of Commissioning Operations for NHS England, said: 'Pressures on our A&E services continue to increase significantly. 'We have admitted more people to hospital this week to take care of them than in any previous week on record. I want to pay tribute to the staff dealing with that – they are doing a brilliant job. 'While we are now below the extremely high waiting time standards that we set ourselves, the service we provide remains robust. 'The NHS’s waiting times for urgent treatment are among the best for any major country that measures them. 'Looking ahead, we need to transform the NHS so it is better able to cope with demand, as set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. 'We have today set out how we plan to drive this forward next year, allocating additional NHS funding to every part of the country. 'As we come into the holiday period, it is important people continue to look after themselves and nip problems in the bud. They should ensure they have proper medication, get their flu jab if they have not done so, and get advice from their pharmacist.' The study suggests the NHS is still unable to cater for a working population that wants family doctors to be available at times to fit in with the lives of busy working people. Fifty walk-in centres have shut down since 2010, and there are now only 185 left in England. From January 2015, GPs will be allowed to move away from the catchment area approach to registering patients. This means that GPs can choose to register patients near their place of work rather than near their homes, though they won’t have to offer this option. And as of March next year, all surgeries must have an online booking system, instead of the specific times at which to call to make appointments that many GP surgeries have.
times in A&E departments hit record levels for the second week running with tens of thousands of Citizens Advice found people aged 18 to 34 are more than twice as likely to visit A&E departments or walk-in centres than those aged 55 need to. Based on answers from 900,000 people of Citizens Advice, said: 'GP services need to keep up with 21st century lifestyles. 'Long