[Emergency services in Norway. A questionnaire study].

A questionnaire survey of primary health care emergency services in Norway (1991) covered 71 municipalities organized into 43 regions containing about 15% of the Norwegian population. The large cities are excluded. Long distances to travel and frequent duty periods cause some problems, but not for the majority of the population or doctors who participated in the survey. In several regions, a significant part of the service is covered by locums. Written directives for the services are rare. The availability of the doctor on duty falls short several places, owing to lack of satisfactory routines and the occasional need to accompany a patient to hospital. In more than half the regions communication systems are unsatisfactory and will have to be upgraded. In almost half the regions emergency telephone calls are sometimes answered by staff without a medical background. A code of practice or central regulation are suggested as possible ways of improving the services.