IGHT
NATIONAL STRATEGY
Growing concern around problem
gambling also led the Gambling
Commission to launch its three-
year National strategy to reduce
gambling harms in April 2019. 8 A
partnership between regulators,
health organisations, charities and
the industry, the strategy’s aim is
to coordinate efforts to ‘bring a
lasting impact on reducing gambling
harms’ through a combination of
enforcement and adoption of evidence-based approaches. To coincide
with the strategy, Public Health England (PHE) announced that it would be
conducting a major evidence review on the impact of problem gambling on
people’s health and wellbeing.
The strategy’s two priority areas are ‘prevention and education’ and
‘treatment and support’, with the first concentrating on creating the right
mix of interventions and the second on delivering ‘truly national treatment
and support options that meet the needs of users’.
There are around
two million people
experiencing
some level of
gambling harm
NATIONAL GAMBLING
TREATMENT SERVICE
Treatment provision for people with a gambling
disorder has improved significantly in recent years,
not least with the advent of the National Gambling
Treatment Service. Commissioned by GambleAware
and provided by a network of NHS and voluntary sector services across GB, it
provides free, effective treatment that can include anything from counselling
and brief interventions to psychotherapy, psychiatric care and residential rehab.
The service works closely with partner organisations to map out care
pathways and referral routes, with many referrals coming via the National
Gambling Helpline – 0808 8020 133. This free helpline also provides
confidential advice and support from trained advisors for those who don’t
necessarily want to access treatment. Available every day via phone or live
chat, the service explains the treatment options available in the caller’s
area and can also advise on support for family members. There is also an
active user forum for peer support. In the year to March 2019 the National
Gambling Treatment Service treated 10,000 people, while the helpline
received 30,000 calls and online chats. A major new digital awareness
campaign will also launch early in 2020.
Treatment for problem gambling is currently not regulated under the
legislation that governs the work of the Care Quality Commission (CQC),
although GambleAware is working with the Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC) to explore options for an equivalent level of quality assurance.
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM
Going public
The importance of a public health approach
A
2019 paper published
in the BMJ, Gambling
and public health: we
need policy action to
prevent harm, stressed that ‘Simply
stating that gambling is a public
health problem is not enough’. 9
It must also ‘be treated as one by
policy makers’, it said, and called
for increased funding for both
treatment and prevention.
When the Gambling
Commission launched its
national strategy one of its
two main strategic priorities
was ‘prevention and education
– making significant progress
towards a clear public health
prevention plan.’
At the same time, PHE
announced its large-scale evidence
review on the public health harms
related to gambling, and the
NHS made clear the link between
problem gambling and stress,
depression and other mental
health issues. The 2019 NHS long
term plan also pledges to work
with partners to tackle gambling
issues ‘at source’ as part of its
commitment to prevention, as well
as to expanding specialist help. 10
GambleAware believes that a
public health approach to reducing
gambling harms can be split into
three different aspects – primary
prevention, which is aimed at
the whole population; secondary
prevention, which is aimed at
groups with a higher prevalence
of gambling harms, and tertiary
prevention, aimed specifically at
people with a gambling disorder.
Prevention services are
commissioned by GambleAware
across three areas of activity. The
first is the National Gambling
Treatment Service, which includes
the National Gambling Helpline
and a network of voluntary sector
and NHS providers.
RAISING AWARENESS
The second area is public health
campaigns and practical support
for local services such as GP
surgeries, mental health services,
prisons, debt advice agencies and
youth workers.
GambleAware has funded
initiatives by Citizens Advice and
the Royal Society for Public Health
(RSPH) to raise awareness of
gambling issues and the specialist
treatment available among
healthcare professionals and staff
in other local agencies.
There is also the national
prevention campaign, Bet Regret,
which encourages people not to
gamble when drunk, bored or
in order to ‘chase’ their losses.
The third area is commissioning
research and evaluation to build a
database of evidence-based good
practice, which has so far included
more than 40 separate peer-
reviewed research projects.
WIDER HEALTH SERIES • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 3