This hotline was created in early 2024 by a law approved in parliament, with the aim of preventing suicide and self-harm. However, it has only now been regulated through an ordinance published in the Official Gazette.

"The national hotline aims to provide the entire population with a specialised support service, provided by mental health professionals, who can respond to any request related to suicidal thoughts and behaviours through a free telephone service, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," states the ordinance signed by the Secretary of State for Health, Ana Povo.

Although integrated with the SNS 24 hotline and in conjunction with the respective psychological counselling service, the suicide prevention hotline will operate, starting September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day, completely autonomously, with its own identity and number.

It will be called the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, will have its own number, 1411, and will be staffed by professionals trained in mental health and suicide, such as clinical and health psychologists and nurses specializing in mental health and psychiatry, the regulations state.

However, in the initial phase of its implementation, services will be provided by psychological counselling professionals with specific training in suicide who are already part of the SUS 24 hotline, and may also include other health professionals trained in this area.

The line will be coordinated by the Ministry of Health's Shared Services (SPMS), which is also responsible for the initial and continuing training of professionals and its national dissemination, the ordinance also states. It also determines that all personal and clinical information provided by users must be treated with strict confidentiality, in accordance with personal data protection legislation.

Last week, the Council of Ministers approved a decree-law that amended the SPMS Statutes, creating the role of clinical coordinator for the National Line for the Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm.

In September 2024, in statements to the Lusa news agency, Secretary of State for Health Ana Povo said that a working group had been created to develop the scientific and operational work aimed at creating this line.

The newly published regulations were developed in collaboration with the National Coordination of Mental Health Policies and consulted with professional associations of doctors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers, as well as the Portuguese Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health, the Portuguese Society of Suicidology, and leading figures in this field.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 700,000 people take their own lives every year.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics indicate that in 2021, there were 934 deaths by suicide and intentional self-harm in Portugal, corresponding to a total mortality rate of nine per 100,000 inhabitants.