Ministry of Health and General Council of Psychologists activate support line for people affected by COVID-19

The Ministry of Health and the General Council of the Official College of Psychologists (Spanish acronym: COP) of Spain have set up a psychological hotline to provide support for those people suffering from difficulties associated with COVID-19. This phone service became operational on Tuesday, 31 March.

The aim is to develop a support and primacy psychological care system geared to cater for stress and situations of discomfort deriving from the different realities being caused by this pandemic.

This form of care is offered through three different phone numbers, aimed at specific groups of people:

• 91 700 79 89 for the families of those sick or who have died from the coronavirus.
• 91 700 79 90 for professionals directly involved in handling the pandemic, such as healthcare workers, State law enforcement officers or local/regional police officers, among others.
• 91 700 79 88 for the general public with difficulties derived from the state of emergency.

The timetable is from 9 am to 8 pm, seven days a week.

Professional care service

This hotline for psychological care is manned by experienced psychologists specialised in different fields. They will follow a common care protocol with all due professional confidentiality guaranteed.

The service has a coordination centre, made up of a team of experts, headed up by the Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid, María Paz García Vera.

Non official translation