Children hooked on addictive video games like Fortnite will be able to seek treatment on the NHS after video gaming is classified as a medical disorder by the World Health Organisation (WHO) next week.

The WHO will on Monday notify governments around the world that they will be expected to incorporate “gaming disorder” into their health systems.

The move comes amid increasing evidence of young players suffering psychological distress and family breakdown as a result of their addiction.

This week the Daily Telegraph revealed one 15-year-old gaming addict in London had been hospitalised for eight weeks and off school for a year after losing the confidence to go outside.

The disorder will be added to the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which means that those diagnosed will be entitled to be treated by the NHS.

The guidelines state that for a diagnosis a victim’s behaviour must be “of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.” They would also normally be expected to have suffered it for at least a year.