“Average service times at Urgent Patient Guidance Centers (CODU) now record, on average, 20 seconds of waiting. Today, November 9th, the average time is 19 seconds”, indicated INEM in a statement.

According to the institute, these times are the result of the contingency measures implemented, “with a view to optimizing the functioning of the INEM medical center”.

One of the measures implemented was a self-service mechanism, “activated only in moments of overload of the CODU system”.

Thus, “if the waiting time reaches three minutes, the call is immediately answered and the contact will respond with YES or NO to the questions asked, allowing you to quickly and automatically prioritize the seriousness of the situations”, explains the statement.

“Depending on the level of severity, emergency resources will be activated or calls transferred to SNS 24”, he adds.

INEM also indicated that it has already reinforced daytime shifts and that nurses have been integrated into the CODU teams.

The National Institute of Medical Emergency also committed to “making every effort to improve care for citizens”.

These measures come after several criticisms and complaints about INEM's alleged delays and failures, which allegedly caused the deaths of at least 10 people.