Purpose: Patients must be able to feel as much trust for caregivers and the healthcare system at the healthcare centre as at the emergency department. The aim of this study is to explain and understand the phenomenon of trust in the early chain of healthcare, when a patient has called an ambulance for non-urgent condition and been referred to the healthcare centre.

Method: A lifeworld hermeneutic approach from the perspective of caring science was used. Ten patient participated: seven female and three male. The setting is the early chain of healthcare in south-wetern Sweden.

Results: The findings show that the phenomenon of trust does not automatically involve medical care. However, attention to the patient's lifeworld in a professional caring relationship enables the patient to trust the caregiver and the healthcare environment. It is clear that the "voice of lifeworld" enables the patient to feel trust.

Conclusion: Trust in the early chain of healthcare entails caregivers' ability to play attention to both medical and existentioal issues in compliance with the patient's information and questions. Thus, the patient must be invited to participate in assessment and decisions concerning his or her own healthcare, in a credible manner and using everyday language.