Eight out of ten who call the emergency room should receive an answer within two minutes. It is a state requirement. But only one out of three paramedics can do that. People have to wait the longest in the big cities. Elsewhere, most emergency services are able to respond when they are supposed to. It shows figures for 2022 that the Directorate of Health presents today. This applies to those who call the emergency room number 116 117. If there is a danger to life and health, you must call 113. Steinar Olsen in the Directorate of Health. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – It is a challenge that many people do not get an answer within two minutes when they call the emergency room, says Director of Emergency Services in the Norwegian Directorate of Health, Steinar Olsen. The smallest are the best None of the largest emergency services can meet the requirement to respond in two minutes. The nearest is Haugesund. They answered almost 8 out of 10 calls within two minutes. In small places it is better: Only two do not reach the target. Karasjok is the very best. There, the emergency room answers 94 percent of calls within two minutes. Oslo is the worst. One of the reasons is that they have much more traffic than places where fewer people live. – There is a big difference between an emergency room that receives five calls a day, and us that receive between 900 and 1100 every day during the busiest periods, she says. Oslo has worked a lot to improve: More operators, more digital solutions and less traffic after the pandemic. – We see an improvement. Last year we were at 21 percent. This year, we have reached 41 per cent within two minutes, says Elisabeth Grøtli Nordal, department director at the general medical emergency in Oslo. – We are satisfied, but not satisfied enough, so we continue to work, says Nordal. Elisabeth Grøtli Nordal is department director at the general practitioner’s ward in Oslo. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news See the full overview at the bottom of the case. The Norwegian Directorate of Health has now opened a website where you can see how the response times are: – Emergency services are an important part of the health service. It is important that there is a place you can call when you need health care and it is not so serious that you need help from AMK, says Olsen. – We will use the results to work together with the municipalities to develop the emergency room service, he says. – They are doing the best they can. Outside the emergency room in Storgata in Oslo, we meet someone who has gone there to get help. Kristian and Evert Isaksen. Photo: Erlend Dalhaug Daae / news Evert Isaksen did not call in advance. – It’s probably from experience, this thing about sitting on the phone for a very long time and waiting. And then you are told that you just have to come anyway, says Isaksen and laughs. Yannick Semmerud-Garcia. Photo: Erlend Dalhaug Daae / news Yannick Semmerud-Garcia stops by to check a broken thumb. It broke during hockey practice. – It looked quite nice. I just have to train my thumb and it will be fine again. – Did you try calling here first? – No, we only went here when I felt that I was in a lot of pain, says Garcia. Katarina Andersson. Photo: Erlend Dalhaug Daae / news Katarina Andersson is an intensive care nurse and knows that the emergency department is very busy. – It can be difficult, especially if you are acutely ill and don’t know whether to call the emergency number or here. But they do the best they can, she says. – Maybe it will be better when there is a new and larger emergency room up in new Aker, says Andersson.
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Ambulances in the big cities are worse at answering the phone than the smallest emergency centers – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
