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Emergency Numbers in Portugal

Modified date: December 19, 2022

If you plan to move to Portugal even for a short term, knowledge of Portugal emergency services is very important. In this guide, you’ll know about the emergency numbers in Portugal. Also, this article provides you with information about what to do in an emergency situation and basic emergency phrases in Portuguese.

Table of Contents

Things To Do in An Emergency in Portugal

There are certain things to be wary of when you call an emergency number in Portugal. For instance, you need to provide the officials with your name and the location of the instance. Also, you need to tell them about the severity of the situation, and how many individuals need help.

It’s also important to inform the operator about prescription drugs or medical problems if you have one.

Let’s now take a look at the types of medical emergency number Portugal.

Emergency Services

In Portugal, there’s the Integrated Medical Emergency System known as SIEM operating since 1981. It includes certain entities such as INEM, GNR, Health Centers, and the fire department.

For all sorts of emergencies, Portugal emergency number is 112, and it entails no charge. Also, you can call 112 from any phone. The operator then directs you to the related unit such as the police or medical service.

Usually, operators in Portugal speak English, but they’re not as proficient as natives.

You can call the ambulance number Portugal112 for situations like medical problems such as accidents, seizures,s and severe injuries. You can call 112 for fire instances or crimes as well. For forest fires, the emergency number is 117.

Accidents and Healthcare

Portugal provides medical services for emergencies without checking if you’re a resident or you have health insurance. Yet, it’s important to provide information about your insurance and other details once being stable.

The ambulance number in Portugal is 112. If you don’t have an emergency situation, you can call Saúde 24 (Line 24). The number is 0808 24 24 24. You can take medical advice from this service.

For traffic accidents and emergencies, you can again call 112. For the road and traffic issues, additional numbers are below:

Traffic Police (Guarda Nacional Republicana): 219 223 000
National Road Safety Authority (Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária): 707 200 011.

Other numbers for other emergency situations are as such:

Cancer Helpline: 213 619 542
Sea rescue: 214 401 919
HIV/AIDS (Linha SIDA): 800 20 10 40

Police Services in Portugal

The police organizations are divided into three in Portugal. One of them is the Judicial Police (PJ= Policia Judiciária). It’s responsible for issues such as terrorism, money laundering, or cybercrime. The other organization is the National Gendarmerie (GNR= Guarda Nacional Republicana). It deals with policing the country’s areas. It doesn’t, however, oversee the major cities that PSP is responsible for. So, PSP is the third organization. It means the Public Security Police (PSP= Policia de Segurança Publica).

Find their numbers below:

Maritime Police: 210 911 100
Transit SOS (GNR): 808 201 855
Environment SOS (GNR): 808 200 520

You can also search for the police forces near your location or the police number Lisbon online.

Services Related to Drug, Alcohol, and Poison

For drug abuse, you can call 1414. It’s the Drug Abuse Support, known as Linha VIDA – SOS Drogos. The line provides you with information, support, and counseling for drug addiction.
For problems with alcoholism, there’s Alcoholics Anonymous. Its number is 217 162 969. It provides you the opportunity to share your problems with others to recover.
There’s also the Anti-Alcoholic Portuguese Society, of which number is 213 571 483. This is another organization that supports individuals suffering from alcoholism. It also aims at the prevention of problems related to alcohol.
For poisoning, the Poison Line is 808 250 143, and it’s available 24 hours. INEM, which is the agency of the Ministry of Health, is responsible for this issue as well. It provides information about the diagnosis and treatment of various poisoning types.
For Narcotics Anonymous (Narcóticos Anônimos), you can call 800 202 013.

Mental Health Services

The suicide/crisis emergency number in Portugal (SOS Voz Amiga) is 0800 202 669. Other than this, Portugal provides mental healthcare services through its health service. At first, you call your doctor, and he/she directs you to a specialist if he/she deems it appropriate and necessary. Note that not all mental healthcare services are covered by the public healthcare system.

Children and Youth Services

There are some lines related to the problems regarding children and young people as noted below:

Child abuse line (SOS Criança): 800 202 651
Ministry for Youth and Sport: 800 203 030
SOS Line For Missing Children: 116000
SOS Line Student: 808 200 204 969 554 545 for emotional support and help regarding stress, suicide, or sexuality.

Embassies and Services for Foreign Citizens in Portugal

You may need to call the embassy of your country in Portugal in cases of disasters or other important and urgent situations. Check out the following list for some of the embassy numbers:

British Embassy: +351 213 924 000
German Embassy: +351 – 96 580 80 92, 351 218 810 210
Australian Embassy: +351 213 101 500, +61 6261 3305
Belgium Embassy: +351 919 810 031, +351 213 170 510
Canada Embassy: 21-316-4600
Spanish Embassy: +351 – 917 267 402, 21 347 2381
US Embassy: +351-21-727-3300, +351-21-094-2000
French Embassy: +351 966 16 07 01.