Belgium's health minister moves to take over 1733 emergency line after heatwave wait times hit 25 minutes

Heatwave overload

During the recent heatwave, Belgium's emergency call centres were overwhelmed. Wait times reached 10 minutes for the life-threatening 112 number and up to 25 minutes for 1733, the line for out-of-hours GP services. The surge led to severe consequences, according to a joint press release from primary care organisations.

Patients sometimes simply could not get through to the 1733 number. Life-threatening situations were not followed up in time, emergency departments were flooded, patients became aggressive, and there were undignified situations where it even took hours to confirm a death of a relative.

Temporary fix

Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) is examining a short-term measure: automatically forwarding 1733 calls to GP on-call posts during peak hours. Callers would still dial the same number but be connected directly to the duty service. The state would cover any extra costs of this temporary arrangement.

Structural overhaul

Beyond the immediate fix, Vandenbroucke is working on a permanent reform. He wants to move the 1733 triage function from the Interior Ministry to Public Health. Several options are on the table: integrating telephone triage into GP on-call posts, using care centres, or creating a separate emergency centre within the health ministry. These will be discussed with the GP sector this autumn.

It cannot be that GPs become the victims of a poorly functioning 1733.

Political backdrop

Vandenbroucke said he already raised the possibility of a transfer with Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) at the end of 2025. Public Health had provided 6.6 million euros to support staffing at the emergency centres, but improvements did not materialise. Quintin welcomed the move.

Finally. The decoupling from 112 was necessary.