Helsevei, for people new to Norway
Sick or hurt in Norway? Here is exactly who to call.
Built for international students at UWC Red Cross Nordic in Flekke and for anyone who has just arrived. Three numbers cover almost everything.
Deaf or hard of hearing: send an SMS to 1412
Not sure which one? Answer one questionCbliu, CC BY-SA 4.0
Choose your language
Everything on this site changes to the language you pick. Phrases stay bilingual so you can show them to a doctor.
In any Norwegian health service you have the right to a free interpreter. Ask for one with the sentence below.
Jeg trenger tolk på engelsk.
I need an interpreter in English.
Not sure who to call?
Pick what is happening. You get a number, a place and the sentence to say.
What is happening?
Result
The road to care, from Flekke
Four places you will hear about, and how far they are by car in good weather.
Flekke0 minWhere you are. School nurse, counsellor, and the 113 and 116 117 numbers.
Cavernia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dale i Sunnfjord15 minGP office, youth clinic, mental-health team, public dentist, and a grocery store with painkillers.
Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
Førde50 minLegevakt, the regional hospital, three pharmacies, the psychiatric clinic, and the bigger dental clinic.
Evolelov, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bergen3 h 30 minThe university hospital. Drive with the Lavik ferry, or bus and express boat.
Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
An hour from anywhere
Flekke sits between the fjord and the mountains. The nearest hospital is in Førde. Knowing where things are is half of feeling safe here.
Fjaler legekontor
15 min from FlekkeGP office · Dale
Sunnfjord og Ytre Sogn legevakt (SYS IKL)
50 min from FlekkeOut-of-hours doctor · Førde
Førde sentralsjukehus
50 min from FlekkeHospital · Førde
Sunnfjord Apotek
48 min from FlekkePharmacy · Førde
Haukeland universitetssjukehus
3 h 40 min from FlekkeHospital · Bergen
The rules nobody tells you
Three doors, one number to decide for you, and a video consult that saves you the drive.
113
113 is for life-threatening emergencies. The operator (AMK) sends an ambulance, a helicopter or a boat. Say the place first, then what happened.
116 117
116 117 is legevakt, the out-of-hours doctor. Use it when you are sick or hurt and it cannot wait until your GP opens. It works everywhere in Norway; the call is routed to the legevakt for where you are.
Fastlege
Your fastlege (GP) is for everything else: ongoing symptoms, prescriptions, referrals to specialists, mental health, certificates. Nearly everything starts here, including hospital treatment, which needs a referral except in emergencies.
Say it, or show it
Bilingual phrases in your language and Norwegian, big enough to hand your phone to a nurse.
It gets dark at three in December
Many students find the first Norwegian winter harder than they expected. Sleep, daylight in the morning, moving your body, and saying it out loud early are what help. If tonight is the hard one, there is someone on the line.
Vimeo, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Every number, one page
Emergency, medical, mental health, youth, and the local numbers around Flekke.
Cavernia, CC BY-SA 4.0
New here? Start with this list
Ten things to do in your first weeks so that a sick day later is only a sick day.
- 1Save the numbers
- 2Learn your address in Norwegian
- 3Get your ID number
- 4Log in to Helsenorge
Why this exists
I once spent an evening in Norway not knowing which of three numbers to call, in a language I could not read, an hour from the nearest hospital. This is the page I needed that night.
Built by a student, for the students who come next.