Since the pandemic situation began, the DGS appealed to people to call the SNS health line first if they suspect covid-19 symptoms, in order to safeguard the hospital capacity.

“Between January 1 and September 14, the SNS24 answered 1,906,644 calls, 840,844 more when comparing to the last year, which represents a growth of 79%, according to data from the Services of the Ministry of Health.

Regarding the Psychological Help Line, created on 1 April, “the calls are related to problems associated with anxiety, stress, anguish, fear, depressive symptoms, management of emotions and adaptation in crisis situations and, sometimes, taking excessive medication and suicidal ideation”, stress the Services of Ministry of Health.

This line was created for health professionals, civil protection, security forces, and the general population, taking into account the priority given to mental health in this period.

This service is also available to deaf citizens through a video call service platform, made available on the SNS24 website, and which has already carried out 785 calls between April 21st and September 24th.