Catalonia's suicide prevention hotline receives 33 daily calls
Most calls are resolved over the phone, with the average caller being a 41-65 year old female
The suicide prevention table of the 061 medical emergency hotline has received 23,000 calls since it was set up two years ago.
Hotline staff told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that from June 2023 to June 2024 the suicide prevention number received an average of 33 calls a day, a 16% increase compared to the same period last year.
According to the hotline, 84% of the calls received were resolved over the phone, meaning that there was no need to activate resources such as ambulances or emergency services.
60% of callers were women, with the average profile of callers being a woman between the ages of 41 and 65.
However, sources from the hotline say that there has been an increase in the number of adolescents, teenagers and elderly people.
Gemma Cuartero, psychological coordinator of the SEM, has stressed the importance of having such a service, pointing out that for every suicide there are "between ten and twenty previous attempts."
The suicide prevention team at the SEM is made up of 70 psychiatrists, nurses and psychologists who work 24 hours a day, 360 days a year.