Two recent government decisions seem to suggest a new intent to achieve these goals: the National Health Council (which was established legally over 25 years ago but never put to work) has been 'activated' and an NHS portal (www.sns.gov.pt) has been launched. It works at arm’s length from the Ministry to promote system transparency and accountability to society. The new NHS Portal provides detailed information about how NHS facilities function, including waiting times for outpatient consultations, emergency services and elective surgery. The new NHS Portal also provides a 'transparency' area, making a wide range of indicators on NHS access, efficiency and quality available in real time. However, life expectancy at birth has increased by over four years since 2000 and is higher than the EU average. Mortality rates for the most common causes of death (cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers) have been decreasing, but some unfavourable trends have emerged, such as the increase in number of deaths caused by diabetes.