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. 2008;26(2):123-8.
doi: 10.1080/02813430801990302.

GPs' use of defibrillators and the national radio network in emergency primary healthcare in Norway

Erik Zakariassen  1 , Steinar Hunskaar
Affiliations

GPs' use of defibrillators and the national radio network in emergency primary healthcare in Norway

Erik Zakariassen et al. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2008.

Abstract

Objective: To study the geographic size of out-of-hours districts, the availability of defibrillators and use of the national radio network in Norway.

Design: Survey.

Setting: The emergency primary healthcare system in Norway.

Subjects: A total of 282 host municipalities responsible for 260 out-of-hours districts.

Main outcome measures: Size of out-of-hours districts, use of national radio network and access to a defibrillator in emergency situations.

Results: The out-of-hours districts have a wide range of areas, which gives a large variation in driving time for doctors on call. The median longest transport time for doctors in Norway is 45 minutes. In 46% of out-of-hours districts doctors bring their own defibrillator on emergency callouts. Doctors always use the national radio network in 52% of out-of-hours districts. Use of the radio network and access to a defibrillator are significantly greater in out-of-hours districts with a host municipality of fewer then 5000 inhabitants compared with host municipalities of more than 20,000 inhabitants.

Conclusion: In half of out-of-hours districts doctors on call always use the national radio network. Doctors in out-of-hours districts with a host municipality of fewer than 5000 inhabitants are in a better state of readiness to attend an emergency, compared with doctors working in larger host municipalities.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Doctors’ access to own defibrillator and always use of the national radio network in emergencies, by size of host municipalities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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