News Details

Deaf citizens will now have a video call service platform at the National Health Service Contact Center - SNS24. From this Tuesday, April 21, this line will have six Portuguese Sign Language interpreters, who will provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure the clarification of these people.

The SNS24 website will have a platform that allows to establish contact, through video call, between the deaf citizen and the Portuguese Sign Language interpreter. This will then mediate with the nurse of the NHS Contact Center, through a voice service platform.

It should be noted that the Screening, Monitoring and Routing Service follows the same parameters for all citizens, differing only in the form of access, to better respond to the needs of each person.

In addition to guaranteeing these citizens access to this line, this functionality can also be used to ensure communication between health professionals and the deaf patient during hospitalization or interactions in the health center.

Currently, one is available Conversation channel on the SNS24 website, which works through an online chat box. Video calling will thus be a new resource available to deaf people.

The provision of this service is the result of a partnership between the National Institute for Rehabilitation, I.P., the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, E.P.E and the Portuguese Federation of Associations of the Deaf.

The Government has been working on the inclusion of deaf people, such as the 112 emergency line, which was accessible to these citizens in the previous legislature.

The Secretary of State for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, Ana Sofia Antunes, stressed that this is a "very important initiative for these people, who will now be able to fully access this service. The Government remains committed to ensuring that deaf citizens have access to other public services”.

The Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, also points out that "the availability of this new tool reinforces what is the spirit of the NHS itself: providing a quality and equitable service, accessible to all citizens, that leaves no one behind”.