Gambling remains a hidden addiction because 'healthcare staff lack training'

There are an estimated 400,000 problem gamblers in the UK – most do not access treatment or know how to get help

Gambling is often described as a hidden addiction. Yet there are an estimated 400,000 problem gamblers in the UK. Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, consultant psychiatrist at the National Problem Gambling Clinic – the only one of its kind in the UK – says that a lack of training among healthcare professionals could partly be to blame for the problem flying under the radar.

“For many years while drug and alcohol addictions were being researched and funded in terms of treatment, the issue of gambling wasn’t taught at medical school,” Bowden-Jones says. “Even as an addictions psychiatrist, we weren’t taught about pathological gambling – I came across it by chance.”

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Continue reading... October 09, 2017 at 04:31PM