[Development of ambulance services in Norway--from transportation to medical activities].

In the course of 100 years ambulance services in Norway have developed from purely transport facilities to mobile medical units. The first ambulance manned by doctors appeared in 1967, and since 1974 a two-year course of training has been available to ambulance personnel. However, as the ambulance services are run on a regional basis, and as official approval of ambulance personnel as paramedical staff is still lacking, there are manifest regional differences in the quality of the services.