[Emergency general practice in Vestfold. Description and analysis]

In Vestfold county the system of emergency care under the primary health service covers 130 hours per week distributed between six regions. The coverage is uneven, and is lower in densely populated areas where the hospitals are located and doctors are many. The organization of the emergency care varies. The largest regions have an emergency out-patient unit. In the smaller regions the doctors visit the home. The use of the emergency care provided by the primary health service was about 0.3 contacts per inhabitant per year, regardless of coverage, and correlated with opening hours. 39% of the general practitioners were reluctant to do emergency work outside normal consulting hours.