Sammanfattning
BACKGROUND Geographical factors have an impact on the utilisation of out-of-hours services. In this study we have investigated the travel distance to out-of-hours casualty clinics in Norwegian municipalities in
2011 and the number of municipalities covered by the proposed recommendations for secondary on-call arrangements due to long distances.
MATERIAL AND METHOD We estimated the average maximum travel times and distances in Norwegian municipalities using a postcode-based method. Separate analyses were performed for municipalities with a
single, permanently located casualty clinic. Altogether 417 out of 430 municipalities were included. We present the median value of the maximum travel times and distances for the included municipalities.
RESULTS The median maximum average travel distance for the municipalities was 19 km. The median maximum average travel time was 22 minutes. In 40 of the municipalities (10 %) the median maximum average
travel time exceeded 60 minutes, and in 97 municipalities (23 %) the median maximum average travel time exceeded 40 minutes. The population of these groups comprised 2 % and 5 % of the country’s total
population respectively. In municipalities that had a permanently located casualty clinic (n = 316), the median average travel time was 16 minutes and the median average travel distance was 13 kilometres.
INTERPRETATION In many municipalities, the inhabitants have a long average journey to out-of-hours emergency health services, but seen as a whole, the inhabitants of these municipalities account for a very
small proportion of the Norwegian population. The results indicate that the proposed recommendations for secondary on-call duty based on long distances apply to only a small number of inhabitants. The
recommendations should therefore be adjusted and reformulated to become more relevant.