Problem gambling clinics

With seven million people on NHS waiting lists, hundreds of excess deaths a week and a five day doctors’ strike to look forward to, the Chief Executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, appeared on television at the weekend to talk about gambling.

To be fair, that is not all she talked about, but it was the only part of the interview that was clipped by NHS England for its Twitter account (and retweeted by Pritchard) so it must have been seen as particularly important. She announced that seven new gambling clinics will be opened to meet a “really significant increase in demand” for the treatment of problem gambling. This will bring the number of NHS gambling clinics in England up to 15. The first one was set up in London over a decade ago. Five more were commissioned in 2019 and two opened last year, in Southampton and Stoke. 

This is good news. There is solid evidence that treatment, especially cognitive behavioural therapy, works in tackling gambling disorders. The clinics need to be accessible and people need to know that they exist. In that sense, Pritchard was performing a public service by talking about them.

But the way she framed the issue left much to be desired.

 

Read the rest at The Critic.

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