Commissioned by NHS England, the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS) is a collaboration of organisations such as GamCare, Gordon Moody and various NHS treatment centres, working together to provide confidential treatment and support for anyone experiencing gambling harms or problem gambling.
Out of 8,490 people receiving structured treatment, 70% of those who started the course as problem gamblers were no longer defined as such on the PGSI scale after completion of treatment.
From start to finish, the average timeframe for the course of the treatment took around nine weeks. The overall annual report showed that 93% of the referrals were self-made, with less than one percent made by GPs. Approximately 50% of clients received their appointment within three days of initial contact to the service, and 75% waited just over a week, within eight days.
In terms of Covid-19 and the impact it has on NGTS services, in comparison to 2019/20, there were 518 fewer people accessing the treatment than in 2020/21.
Zoë Osmond, GambleAware CEO, said: “It is encouraging to see that during an unprecedented year, when many of the services had to move online, the National Gambling Treatment Service has been able to continue to deliver good results for those receiving treatment. The worryingly low uptake of services, however, underlines the very real need to continue to raise awareness of and improve pathways to the Service, so that more people know that help is available.
“To assist here, we are continuing to deliver impactful campaigns to help elevate awareness of the service across the country. We have recently appointed FutureGov to develop a new Outcomes Framework and Service Delivery model to help deliver improved access to, and awareness of the NGTS.
"We also encourage healthcare professionals and other community support figures to refer people in need to the Service, yet we recognise that the NGTS cannot tackle this problem alone and we, therefore, call on other statutory sectors to track results of gambling treatments to help to deliver a clearer picture of treatment in Great Britain.”
