The previous number (808 250 143), which had a local price rate, will continue to be active for a year but all the calls will be automatically redirected to the new number (808 250 250).


The doctor responsible for the Anti-venom Information Centre (CIAV), Fatima Rato, told Lusa that the new number is “easier for citizens to memorise and easier for them to be able to use the service whenever they need it.”


For the doctor, it is a “bonus” to increase access to a 24-hour service which is carried out by doctors specialised in the field of toxicology.


By 2018, mistakes in drug procurement accounted for about 63 percent of phone consultations, approximately 19 percent of calls resulted from exposure to household products, such as bleach or detergents and 5 percent from exposure to pesticides.


In 65 percent of the situations, the poisoning occurred in adults and 33 percent in children, according to INEM, among children, the overwhelming majority (63 percent) occurred between the ages of one and four.


According to Fatima Rato, the line will allow experts to be able to intervene “earlier and guide people on what they should do”.


She added: “Most times, individuals have the tendency of rushing to the health centre, hospital or a clinic and often many of these situations can be resolved at home as there is no need to go to a health centre,” adding that the intervention will also help to alleviate health services.


The doctor said that the most frequent cases they face are of parents who have given extra medicine to children because the carer or parent forgot to mention that they had already given it, and of elderly people who have confused their medication or repeat prescriptions.
“Unfortunately, there are also many situations in which people have the habit of using bottles of water (…) and filling them with another substance without identifying that it is potentially dangerous.”


These situations can lead to “potentially more serious situations and require another type of intervention,” she warned.