Legevakt

Legevakt is the out-of-hours emergency medical service in Norway, providing urgent medical care outside ordinary general practitioner hours. The service is organized by municipalities and often operates in collaboration with nearby hospitals. Legevakt centers are typically staffed by general practitioners on call, emergency nurses, and other healthcare professionals, with physicians from hospital departments available as needed. The aim is to handle urgent health issues that cannot wait until regular GP offices reopen and to relieve hospital emergency departments of non-life-threatening cases.

Access and use: Patients usually contact legevakt via a central telephone service, with guidance offered by trained staff to determine whether an in-person visit is necessary. For life-threatening conditions, the national emergency number 113 should be dialed, or one should go directly to the hospital emergency department. If appropriate, the legevakt can provide on-site assessment, basic treatment, wound care, infection management, minor injuries, and follow-up arrangements, and may perform home visits in certain circumstances. Triage is used to prioritize patients based on severity.

Relation to other services: Legevakt complements regular general practice and hospital emergency departments. It is intended for urgent problems that do not require immediate hospital admission and often serves as the bridge between daytime general practice and hospital care after hours. In rural areas, access can be limited by distance and capacity; digital tools and telemedicine are increasingly employed to improve efficiency.

Legevakt thus functions as a key component of Norway’s healthcare system, ensuring urgent medical care is accessible when regular clinics are closed while directing more serious cases to hospital facilities.