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HEALTH

024: What you need to know about Spain’s new suicide prevention hotline 

Spain has launched a 24-hour phoneline for people with suicidal thoughts and their families as part of a €100-million plan to improve mental health provision in the country, where an average of 11 people take their own lives every day. 

Published: 10 May 2022 11:07 CEST
024: What you need to know about Spain's new suicide prevention hotline 
Suicide is the main unnatural cause of death in Spain, with 3,941 cases accounted for in 2020. Photo: Gadiel Lazcano/Unsplash

Spain’s Ministry of Health launches on Tuesday May 10th 2022 a specialised hotline under the motto “Llama a la vida”  (Call to life).

People experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviour as well as their relatives will be able to dial 024, available 24 hours a day for every day of year, a service that’s free of charge and completely confidential.

Fátima Caballero, Red Cross health director and who will manage the suicide prevention line, has said that a team of “qualified and multidisciplinary” professionals will “will provide response, prevention and emotional support” to people who are thinking about taking their own lives, are trying to do so, and assist their families.

According Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias, the team behind the suicide prevention line will speak several languages, without specifying if this includes English.

“(Suicide) is a threat that has been silenced for too long,” Darias said, stressing that calling 024 will be an option for people with disabilities in Spain.

Suicide is the main unnatural cause of death in Spain, with 3,941 cases accounted for in 2020 (no official data for 2021 yet), which represented the highest number on record and a 5.7 percent increase compared to 2019. 

That means that on average 11 people take their own lives every day in Spain.

The suicide prevention scheme is part of a €100-million package announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez last October to finance mental health provisions in Spain, as the public health sector has been struggling to cope with rising demand for mental health services during the pandemic.

The funds will go to training professionals, fighting stigmatisation, ensuring early detection, preventing suicide and promoting emotional wellbeing.

EXPLAINED: Spain’s new €100 million mental health plan

Regarding the suicide prevention hotline, Spain is following the example of other European countries that offer anyone who has thoughts of taking their own life the chance of having professional help, someone who listens to them and if necessary activates a response in coordination with the emergency services.

For Health Minister Darias the hotline is “a measure that will help many people” and serve to “end stigmas and taboos” around suicide.

The OECD has warned of the Covid-19 pandemic’s significant and unprecedented impact on mental health, the impact of which is still not yet fully understood.

Statistics show that 5.8 percent of the Spanish population has anxiety, and a similar percentage suffer from depression. On top of that, at least 1 million Spaniards have a “serious mental health disorder” and only half receive treatment.

“10.8 percent of Spaniards have consumed tranquillisers, relaxants or sleeping pills,” Sánchez tweeted last October. “This says a lot about the problem we have in our society with mental health. We cannot normalise it. We must respond to this issue and analyse its causes and origins.”

READ ALSO: How to find an English-speaking therapist in Spain

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HEALTH

How to add a beneficiary to your social security and healthcare in Spain

If you pay into the social security system in Spain, which you will do automatically if you work or are self-employed, then you have the right to access several benefits and so do some of your family members.

Published: 26 June 2024 11:56 CEST
Updated: 29 June 2024 08:09 CEST
How to add a beneficiary to your social security and healthcare in Spain

Did you know that you can add beneficiaries to your social security benefits, even if they don’t work, meaning they can access healthcare too? This includes anyone who is dependent on you such as a husband, wife or your children.

Here are all the people you can legally add to your social security:

  • Your legal spouse
  • Your civil union partner (pareja de hecho)
  • Your ex-spouse or judicially separated in cases in which there is the right to receive a compensatory pension from the insured partner
  • Your children or children of a legal partner under 26 years old
  • Children older than 26 if they have a disability of over 65 percent
  • Your grandchildren under 26 years old, if they are not beneficiaries of their parents
  • Your siblings if they are under 26 years old, dependent on you and are not already beneficiaries of someone else
  • Your foster child under 18 years old

READ ALSO – GUIDE: How to register with Spain’s social security system

How do I add a beneficiary?

You can add someone to your social security with or without a digital certificate or in person, depending on what is easier for you. If you have one, it will be easier to use that and identify yourself online.

With a digital certificate or similar

The first step is to access the social security platform on the Social Security website, then log-in to your Social Security (TUSS) portal. You can identify yourself using the digital certificate, Cl@ve PIN, via a text message or a Spanish DNI number.

You need to digitally identify yourself on the Social Security website. Source: Seguridad Social

Navigate to the health care section – Asistencia Sanitaria and click on ‘Añadir un nuevo beneficiario’ or ‘Add new beneficiary’ and fill in the corresponding boxes with their information such as name, date of birth, NIE/DNI number, your relationship to them, and country of birth. Then click on ‘Continuar‘ (Continue) at the bottom of the screen and simply submit your application. 

Fill out the necessary details of the beneficiary. Source: Seguridad Social
 

Online without a digital certificate or similar

Firstly you’ll need to go to the following social security website. All you will need is to have access to an e-mail address and to be able to take a digital photo of yourself holding your ID card, this should be your TIE card if you’re from a non-EU country or your green card and passport if you’re from an EU country.

Firstly, you will need to click ‘solicante‘ if you are filling it out yourself. Next, complete your details such as name, type of document and date of birth. You will also need your support number.

Fill out your details so you can be identified without your digital certificate. Source: Seguridad Social

You will then need to upload the photo of you holding your ID, plus images of your ID card, front and back.

On the next page, you will be asked to fill out more personal information, as well as all the information of the beneficiary you want to add.

Finally, you will need to add supporting documentation such as your marriage certificate, birth certificate of your child etc, whatever officially proves your relationship with them. For children under three months old, this documentation is not necessary, since the Civil Registry automatically sends this data to social security.

Finally, click the button to give your consent. ‘Doy mi Consentimiento’ and then review all the details before submitting your application. You will then receive a code via e-mail, which you must introduce, along with your digital signature, to finalise the process.

In-person

You can also apply in person at a Social Security Assistance and Information Centre (CAISS), by appointment, or by ordinary mail to the Provincial Directorate of the INSS. You will need all the same documentation as above.

It’s a good idea to make digital photocopies of these documents, as well as bring the originals.

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