Fewer doctors in outlying regions

The number of doctor man-years per inhabitant (coverage) indicates a decline in doctors in the most outlying municipalities. At the turn of the year 1997/1998, doctors worked 620 man-years in these locations, about 30 fewer man-years than in 1995.

Medical services show mostly stable coverage in most types of municipality, but the decline in the least central municipalities in recent years indicates a deterioration of medical services in rural areas. By comparison, the number of doctor man-years increased by 80 from 1987 to 1995.

It is still too early to ascertain any lasting decline in medical services, but previous surveys show that the most outlying municipalities have greater difficulty than other municipalities in filling doctor vacancies. We also know that the turnover of doctors is a problem in small rural communities. The drop in doctor man-years may indicate that the problem of recruiting doctors to the districts has grown in recent years.

New statistics
General practice, physiotherapy and preventive care in municipal health service, 1997. Preliminary figures.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact jon.erik.finnvold@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 46.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 35, 1998