Service focus - Northern Gambling Service

NHS Northern Gambling Service launched in September 2019 and is providing support to many people with gambling addiction problems across the north of England.

The service has opened its first clinics in Leeds and Sunderland, with another in Manchester set to open this month.

The service in a nutshell

Covering the whole of the north of England, the Northern Gambling Service is set up to provide specialist addiction therapy and recovery support to people affected by gambling addiction, as well as those with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidal feelings.

The service also provides all important support to people close to those with gambling addiction, such as family, partners, and carers, sometimes a lifeline for all affected. This is a stand-alone support service, and can be accessed even if the gambler is not in the service.

Any door is the right door

The NHS Northern Gambling Service works closely with a range of people and organisations including GPs, local councils, NHS trusts, national and local charities, Citizens’ Advice, the criminal justice system, debt agencies, substance misuse services and homeless agencies. One of its core values is that ‘any door is the right door’ which means people can be referred in via a number of routes no matter where they are or who they are receiving help from. People can also self-refer. To access the service, people can:

Email: referral.ngs@nhs.net

Tel: 0300 3001 490

Visit our website www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/ our-services to find out more about the service, including some brave stories of people affected by gambling addiction.

Expert view

Matthew Gaskell, Consultant Psychologist and Clinical Lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service, said:

Gambling addiction is a new public health crisis. It’s causing serious harm to thousands of people across the UK. This includes mental health problems, serious debt, breakdown of relationships, loss of employment, crime, homelessness and sometimes suicide.

“Through my work in mental health and addictions treatment over the years I’ve seen the harms that problem gambling can inflict on people.

“However the chances of recovery from addictions like problem gambling can be very good with proper treatment. I often see people make good sustained recoveries when they seek help.”

Leeds lad Nathan shares his addiction story

“I remember putting my first £20 note in the electronic game machine and, as many gamblers can attest to, number 22 came up which was the only number that wasn’t covered! I felt absolutely furious, absolutely empty. Then the chase came. Suddenly a full month of my wage was in the machine with nothing to show for it – and that’s how it started…”

“To cut a long story short; after seven expensive years, three bad debt credit cards, a high interest credit union overdraft, a standard overdraft, four payday loans and £4,500 of tuition loans, I found myself sleeping on my little brother’s floor.”

“For Nathan, recovery came after a wakeup call at work when one of the customers at the gym he was working at told him that his reason for going to the gym every day was because he had a terminal illness and was trying to prolong his life. Nathan started to see things differently at that point and put everything into perspective: “It was after that on 1 May 2018 that I vowed never to gamble again, and confessed everything to my family and friends. I also vowed to my new partner that I would never gamble again and that has been absolutely crucial in my recovery.”

“The Northern Gambling Service would have helped me tremendously in terms of access to quality services to help deal with my conditions, thoughts and concerns. It’s wonderful that the NHS is now investing in treating problem gamblers. Hopefully now the term ‘gambling addict’ is taken much more seriously.

How we hit the headlines

The NHS Northern Gambling Service launched to the public on 18 September 2019. The news made quite an impact:

• A BBC news website article was seen by nearly 1 million people within 24 hours

• The story was picked up by national TV, radio, newspapers and news websites

• Independent media monitoring said our coverage reached over 560 million people across the globe.

Help us reach out

As so many agencies can refer into this service, we’re relying on people to help us spread the word. If you come into contact with people who might suffer from a gambling addiction, we have a range of resources on our website that could help.

Search “NHS Northern Gambling Service marketing resources” to find them.