About This Webinar
Welcome to the final session of the NHS APA Virtual Conference 2025. In this session, our Chair, Danny Hames, will introduce our second Keynote Speaker, Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE. Henrietta will present on the topic: Gambling Harms and Societal Stigma: The Next Ten Years.

Prof. Bowden-Jones will then be joined by panellists James Austin and Michael for a Q&A session before Danny Hames closes the 2025 conference.

The session will conclude at approximately 4.00 pm.

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Presenters
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    Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE DL
    Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE DL is a consultant psychiatrist in addictions, with both a clinical career and a research background, having obtained her Medical Doctorate in Neuroscience from Imperial College. She was appointed the first-ever National Clinical Advisor on Gambling Harms in 2022 having led the 2019 NHS long-term plan expansion of treatment delivery for gambling disorder. She is the Founder and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, which she started in 2008 as the first NHS service to treat gambling disorder. Her roles include Honorary Professor at UCL and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Cambridge University, where she is a Fellow of Trinity Hall.
    She was awarded the OBE in 2019 for her service to addiction treatment
    and research and was awarded the Psychiatrist of the Year in 2020 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
  • M
    Michael
    Michael lived with a gambling problem for over 10 years, but was in complete denial about the impact gambling was having on his life and those around him. He finally sought help in 2024 when his world came crashing down and he lost everything that was important to him – his partner, family and home they lived in together. At 39 years old had to face the reality of starting life again under a burden of financial debt, physical and mental challenges - all caused by his gambling. Finally the truth was out but far too late and the impacts of his hidden addiction didn’t just affect him.


    That wakeup call led Michael to tell everyone close to him about his situation and start his successful journey towards recovery, supported by the NHS gambling clinic, psychologists, friends and family members. Michael now spends his time trying to support people before it’s too late, highlighting the impact of gambling on affected others and focussing on the stigma that stopped him seeking help sooner, when there were many opportunities that shame, guilt and perceived judgment from others stopped him from doing so.
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    Danny Hames
    NHS APA Chair
    Danny Hames has 18 years’ experience working in the public and voluntary sectors, within criminal justice, long terms conditions and the drug and alcohol treatment sector. He has worked as a Practitioner, Operational Manager and Head of Development. In September 2018 he became the Head of Inclusion which is part of the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. Inclusion is the largest NHS provider of drug and alcohol services in England working in both prisons and the community. Inclusion also provides sexual health and Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. Danny is an accredited PRINCE2 and MSP Practitioner and holds a PG Certificate in Drug and Alcohol Policy and a MA in Voluntary Sector Studies.

    Danny initiated and is a founding member of the NHS Substance Misuse Provider Alliance which was founded in 2016. This is a collaboration of thirteen NHS trusts that provide drug and alcohol treatment services with the aim of supporting and developing best practice in the sector, this included, with Collective Voice producing “Improving Clinical Responses to Drug Related Deaths Best Practice Guidelines (April 2017)”. The NHS APA also aims to provide a NHS treatment service voice to the benefit of the sector and as part of this runs annual conferences. The NHS APA currently works in over 50 prisons and 35 community services across England. NHS APA is currently establishing an initiative across 12 NHS trusts in England to eliminate Hepatitis C. Danny is the current chair of the NHS APA.
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    James Austin
    Deputy Director Mental Health (cross-cutting)

    NHS England
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