In a hearing before the Health Committee, at the request of the PSD (Social Democratic Party), the president of the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS) admitted that, eight years after the creation of SNS24, “there are growing pains, complaints from citizens due to increased waiting times (...), and the discomfort of professionals who, despite giving their best every day, cannot always provide the best response”.

“We truly regret, especially during 2025 and more specifically in the summer months, that we were unable to achieve the service levels that were explicitly stated in the contract,” said Sandra Cavaca.

But she added, in response to questions from members of parliament about increased waiting times and unanswered calls, that the SNS24 service contract, when it was signed, “did not have those characteristics.”

Sandra Cavaca explained that the contract with Altice, the telecommunications company that operates the SNS24 helpline, anticipated approximately 2.2 million calls per year, far from the current reality, where it is likely that around 7 million calls will be answered by the end of 2025.

She further clarified that the SNS24 helpline has scheduled more than 970,000 primary healthcare appointments since the beginning of the year: “That’s about 3,000 appointments per day, 3,000 people who didn’t go to hospital emergency rooms and didn’t wait in long lines at dawn (…) for an appointment at their health center.”

The manager expressed her conviction that service will improve this winter with the measures taken with the operator to retain professionals and increase clinical capacity and preparedness, noting that in November, approximately 93% of calls were answered.

Evolution

Also heard by the Health Committee, the operations director of Altice stated that the evolution of SNS24 (the Portuguese national health service helpline) over the last few years demonstrates “Altice's ability to respond with professionalism, rigor, and technology to the country's needs.”

“We went from 900,000 annual calls in 2017 to almost 6 million this year, with historical peaks such as the 9 million calls registered in 2022,” said Nuno Cadima.

In the first 11 months of this year alone, approximately 628,000 monthly calls were reached, a growth of 279% compared to the pre-contract period.

“No health system can absorb this leap without significant investment and reinforcement of teams, and during the pandemic, the need for a robust response became evident,” said the official.

With the implementation of the "Call Before, Save Lives" project and the integration of new local health units, he highlighted, "SNS24 now covers approximately 8 million Portuguese citizens, substantially increasing the responsibility and impact of the helpline on the organization of emergency and primary care."

"Today, SNS24 ensures 24/7 clinical triage, teleconsultations, psychological support, administrative services, and a priority response on the SNS pregnant women's helpline, with an average call handling time of less than 10 seconds," he emphasized.

Professionals

On the operational level, Nuno Cadima highlighted the reinforcement of human resources, and the number of clinical triage professionals at the peak of the pandemic has already been surpassed, 3,701 compared to 2,779.

“This year alone, we hired 265 professionals in September, 500 in October, and 600 in November. And another 600 are in training for operational integration in December,” he emphasized, stating that these investments are already reflected in the results.

“The call handling rate increased from 70% in September to 93% in November, and the average waiting time dropped from 689 seconds to 153 seconds.”

When questioned by members of parliament about a study that warns that approximately one million calls may go unanswered this winter, Nuno Cadima explained that the study assumes the system's capacity in June 2025 and, since then, an automated clinical pre-screening system has been implemented, and an AI pilot program for acute respiratory illnesses is underway to optimize screening.