NHS Stops taking Gambling Funds To Treat Addiction
19 February 2022
The NHS will stop taking cash from the gambling industry to deal with people with dependency, the NHS England national psychological health director has actually stated.
Writing to charity GambleAware, Claire Murdoch stated the NHS would instead fund its own betting services from 1 April.
The gambling industry paid ₤ 16m to GambleAware in between April and December to assist fund treatment services.
Of this, ₤ 1.2 m was awarded in grants to NHS-run gaming centers.
But Ms Murdoch said clients were uncomfortable about utilizing services paid for by the gambling industry - and she said that had "greatly influenced" her decision to decline future funding from GambleAware.
She said industry financing "has actually enabled us to present treatment services much faster than would have otherwise been possible", but there was a desire to move the financing into general NHS financing.
"Additionally, our clinicians feel there are disputes of interest in their clinics being part-funded by resources from the gambling market," Ms Murdoch wrote.
It comes less than a year after Ms Murdoch told the Guardian, external that gambling companies must be struck with a mandatory levy to fund treatment, as the NHS had actually been left to "get the pieces".
'I 'd gamble on the school run and on the bus'
Teenagers 'bombarded by betting advertisements'
In her newest letter to GambleAware, she stated the health service can not deal with the "harms" brought by betting alone, and neither is it the NHS's "job" to do so.
Ms Murdoch stated the NHS would continue to work closely with GambleAware to develop a treatment system that is "fit for function".
In 2015, the total voluntary pledges to GambleAware consisted of ₤ 1m from William Hill, ₤ 4m from Entain and just over ₤ 4m from Bet365.
19 February 2022
The NHS will stop taking cash from the gambling industry to deal with people with dependency, the NHS England national psychological health director has actually stated.
Writing to charity GambleAware, Claire Murdoch stated the NHS would instead fund its own betting services from 1 April.
The gambling industry paid ₤ 16m to GambleAware in between April and December to assist fund treatment services.
Of this, ₤ 1.2 m was awarded in grants to NHS-run gaming centers.
But Ms Murdoch said clients were uncomfortable about utilizing services paid for by the gambling industry - and she said that had "greatly influenced" her decision to decline future funding from GambleAware.
She said industry financing "has actually enabled us to present treatment services much faster than would have otherwise been possible", but there was a desire to move the financing into general NHS financing.
"Additionally, our clinicians feel there are disputes of interest in their clinics being part-funded by resources from the gambling market," Ms Murdoch wrote.
It comes less than a year after Ms Murdoch told the Guardian, external that gambling companies must be struck with a mandatory levy to fund treatment, as the NHS had actually been left to "get the pieces".
'I 'd gamble on the school run and on the bus'
Teenagers 'bombarded by betting advertisements'
In her newest letter to GambleAware, she stated the health service can not deal with the "harms" brought by betting alone, and neither is it the NHS's "job" to do so.
Ms Murdoch stated the NHS would continue to work closely with GambleAware to develop a treatment system that is "fit for function".
In 2015, the total voluntary pledges to GambleAware consisted of ₤ 1m from William Hill, ₤ 4m from Entain and just over ₤ 4m from Bet365.