**2. Methods**

The ED and UCC studied were situated in a hospital in Gothenburg in western Sweden. The ED was part of a University Hospital, distributed over three main hospital complexes in di fferent districts, with one ED each. Each of the EDs received approximately one-third of the 150,000 presentations annually in the city. The ED included was typical, i.e., treating diseases and injuries from age 16, excluding orthopaedic and psychiatric diseases. It received 53,840 visits during 2018, an increase of 4.8% over the year before (2017). The trend of more visits had been apparent during the last few decades. The ED served the part of the county characterised by the weakest socioeconomic status and highest proportion of immigrants. A UCC was established in spring 2018, sta ffed with primary care physicians and registered nurses. The UCC shared the triage line with the ED, with attendees being assessed post-triage as either ED or UCC patients. The UCC was expected to optimise shared resources and provide improved services for low-urgency patients. The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Gothenburg with approval number: D 374-18.
