Capio Nightingale launches Problem Gambling Support Group to meet growing demand
4 Feb 2008
Capio Nightingale is launching a Problem Gambling Support Group today as part of its specialised Gambling Addiction service in London.
The Problem Gambling Support Group will meet weekly in the evening at the main hospital location in Lisson Grove.
The service has been devised to meet the significant growing demand from problem gamblers to receive help without taking significant time out from work.
Statistics show that nearly 1% of household income is spent on gambling each year according to the 2006 Office of National Statistics (ONS) Expenditure and Food Survey.
With more recent Government research indicating that people in the UK are spending £1 billion every week on gambling, the need for action has never been more acute.
Joint Lead Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, commented on the trend:
"As a nation, we are spending an increasing proportion of our incomes on gambling.
Over the last ten years we have witnessed a growing incidence of gambling addiction amongst our patients at Capio Nightingale. It is often reported alongside other dependencies but, increasingly, patients are seeking treatment for gambling addiction alone.
"In fact, the liberalisation of gambling laws and the easy access provided by online gambling is likely to lead to an increasing prevalence of problem gamblers and we anticipate a strong and growing need for these services."
Commenting on the types of patients she treats Dr Bowden-Jones adds:
"Gambling activity in the UK has changed beyond recognition over the last decade... the move away from the traditional betting shop to more accessible, acceptable and even ‘glamorous' forms of gambling.
"We are also seeing groups of city workers who deal with millions every day at work losing serious amounts of their own money having started activities such as spread betting for recreation and been unable to control the habit."