A recent Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing focused on the long wait for mental health care at some Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities across the country. The hearing comes at a time when as many as 18 veterans are committing suicide daily. Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (Wash.) questioned the VA on a survey of mental health providers that reveals that in many areas of the country wait times far exceeded the VA's mandated 14-day window. The survey indicated that 70 percent of providers said they did not have adequate staff or space to meet the mental health care needs of the veterans, and 46 percent of respondents said the lack of off-hour appointments prevented veterans from accessing care. Murray pointed out that 33,000 more troops are returning from Afghanistan next year and demands on the VA mental health program will only increase.
Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr (N.C.) expressed disappointment with the VA mental health program even though the program funding has increased by 136 percent and staffing has increased by 47 percent since FY 2006. Burr explained that 70-80 percent of PTS patients will recover if they get adequate and timely treatment.
After hearing testimony on the long waits and bureaucratic mismanagement, the committee called for an investigation and audit of the VA mental health program.
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2 comments:
I suffer from PTSD but did not start receiving care for it until it was "officially" diagnosed in 2009. The kicker was that I had been out of the service since 2000. It then took the VA another 18 months before I started receiving disability benefits for it. The benefits were not my big concern. My big concern was that the VA alloted only 30 minutes for counseling appointments. This is the VA now, NOT the doctors. This was outrageous! Luckily, my doctor would always squeeze in as much time as possible, but had to maintain the mandatory time slots for appointments. What this meant was that I would arrive at 10:15 for a 10:30 appt,. but not be called in until NOON. By the time the doctor got done reviewing the medications and notes from the past visits, the time was half over. The doctors had nowhere near enough time to speak with the patients and do a proper evaluation. Now let me make this perfectly clear, my doc was a great doctor, great person, and great at his job. The VA just did not give doctors enough time to properly evaluate the patients and give them the care they needed. And this was certainly not due to lack of effort on the part of the doctors. For the sake of the patients AND doctors alike, I really hope the VA gets their act together QUICKLY so that our veterans get the care they need and DESERVE!!!
For the sake of the patients AND doctors alike, I really hope the VA gets their act together QUICKLY so that our veterans get the care they need and DESERVE!!!
December 10, 2011 5:17 PM
I have always heard bad things about the V.A. for many many years. Mostly about the care the vets received at their hospitals, or should I say,'lack of care'.
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