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ARCHIVED - Andalusian Health Service implements single number for outgoing calls to improve patient safety
The new number will appear on every call made from public hospitals, health centres and medical facilities in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía.
The Andalusian Health Service (SAS) is rolling out a single number for outgoing calls from public health centres in the region to make it easier to identify legitimate calls.
The new number, 955 800 008, will replace all the long switchboard, random mobile or hidden numbers which have been appearing on calls from hospitals, health centres and other medical facilities. The project to implement the single number has already begun in parts of Almeria, Córdoba and Seville and is expected to reach all 1,500 health centres in Andalusia within a few months.
The initiative aims to improve patients’ safety as there have been scams and nasty tricks recently with fraudsters making calls pretending to be health staff. One of these tricks led last week to dozens of elderly people rushing to a health centre in Almería when fake messages appeared on WhatsApp and social media groups claiming coronavirus vaccinations were being given without appointments.
The new number is part of the SAS’s digital strategy, which also includes the ClicSalud+ website and Salud Andalucia and Salud Responde mobile apps.