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UK healthcare professionals are recommended to include regular gambling screening into health checks to combat gambling-related harm.
New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) focus on early identification of at-risk individuals to help reduce gambling-related harm in the UK. Measures include incorporating gambling screening steps into regular health checks to spot potential issues before they become entrenched.
The implementation of such steps is supported by the expansion of NHS (the UK’s state healthcare service) specialist gambling clinics and an upcoming statutory industry levy. It marks the first time that NICE’s clinical guidance has specifically noted gambling-related harm, both in terms of identifying and managing the risks.
What can gambling screening achieve?
Implementing gambling screening would involve healthcare providers discussing gambling alongside other health topics like smoking and alcohol in routine appointments. The reach of such early identification methods would aim to spot potential issues far earlier than the current processes.
There would be a special focus on screening patients presenting with issues that often relate to elevated risks of gambling-related harm, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm or substance dependence. Other factors that should be considered by healthcare providers relate to involving family members in treatment options and ensuring that gambling treatment is offered separately to programmes for other heath issues, like alcohol or substance abuse.
Specifically, healthcare professionals are advised to use the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) questionnaire to assess risk levels in patients, where scores of eight or above indicating a need for specialist treatment. The NHS has been putting more emphasis on gambling treatment, with 15 specialist clinics in operation across the UK. At the same time, the statutory levy mentioned above is expected to generate $124 million to go towards treatment services.
In other countries, measures focus on reducing gambling advertising, as in Australia, as well as some experimental treatment plans, like a study looking at the potential impact of magic mushrooms.
Featured image: Midjourney
