NHS APA Membership
- NHS Addictions Provider Alliance
- Nov 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 28
The NHS APA began in 2016 as a meeting of peers in NHS organisations throughout England who were commissioned to deliver drug and/or alcohol treatment and support services in the community, in inpatient settings, or in prisons. The APA’s membership widened over time to include NHS organisations providing treatment and support for gambling harms. In 2025, we have widened our membership offer again, recognising that all NHS organisations – regardless of whether they are directly commissioned to provide services for drug, alcohol, or gambling-related harms – may benefit from being involved in our network. This means that NHS APA membership is now open to expressions of interest, from any NHS organisation that would like to access membership benefits, which you can find out more about further down this page, and contribute to the APA’s activities. To express your interest, fill out the form here. Our approach is explained in more detail in our 2024-26 Strategy, which you can read here.
At a time when NHS services can feel isolated from the rest of the healthcare system, the APA fills an important role in bringing our hard-working specialist NHS addictions
workforce together to support coordinated, trauma-informed, and evidence-led approaches to addiction treatment and recovery.
We are continually making efforts to strengthen member engagement, build strategic partnerships, and enhance our governance structures as a mature and forward-thinking
approach to alliance-building. If you are an NHS organisation with an interest in the lives of
those affected by drugs, alcohol or gambling, we sincerely hope you will consider becoming a member at this time as we all bring our best efforts to improving treatment and support.
APA Membership: key information
There are a number of benefits to being a member of the APA:
Networking and influence: staff can join policy working groups, shape our advocacy efforts and become part of a powerful collective voice in the national dialogue.
Tackling stigma: we will support you to be a champion in your region for APA’s #StigmaKills campaign, changing cultures and improving patient experience across NHS settings.
Capacity and innovation: membership creates opportunities to leverage shared resources, support each other to strengthen clinical practice and drive improvements across services.
Strategic positioning: being a member means aligning your Trust with a forward-thinking network positioned to influence national policy, workforce development, and funding sustainability across addictions services and related fields.
Key information for prospective members:
NHS organisations join the APA on an annual basis.
The annual membership fee is £5,000*
Each member sends a senior representative to the quarterly APA Board meetings.
Any staff member employed by or volunteering for an Alliance member can access APA membership benefits and engage with us.
Your staff can join any of the five current APA Working Groups, which meet every six weeks:
Alcohol Harms Group
Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Group
Gambling Harms Group
Inpatient Detox Network
Partnership, Innovation and Research Group
*Your membership fee supports the employment of two part-time staff members and our contract with Brightsparks, a marketing and communications agency that supports us with the delivery of our Stigma Kills campaign and our annual conference, which is free to attend. Please contact us via the website or by emailing us at admin@nhsapa.org Our membership information is also available to download below.
