The United States Committee on Veterans Affairs is launching an investigation into the Department of Veterans Affairs in regards to claims of inadequate staffing, long lines for mental health care and whether VA employees work to reach numbers rather than focusing on providing necessary mental health care.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the committee, charged George J. Opfer, Inspector General of the VA, to take a considered and serious look into the allegations brought forth before the panel.
Possibly the most severe allegations brought up during testimony in front of the Senate committee is that some VA medical staff are focusing on meeting Department-wide goals instead of providing thorough mental health care for each veteran with combat-related psychological issues.
Essentially, VA staff is fudging with the numbers so that it appears they are meeting goals set for veterans seeking care for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
As a VA standard, any veteran seeking medical attention for PTSD must receive treatment in 2 weeks of being first evaluated. This shocking testimony came from Michelle Washington, a coordinator of PTSD services at Delaware based VA center.
According to Ms. Washington, the problem is scarce staffing at these facilities . In short, without proper staff, veterans seeking medical care for PTSD and other psychological issues stemming from their time in the service face a considerable delay. The staff at VA facilities are blocked by both a VA-wide requirement of providing proper care in a certain period of time after initial evaluation and the lack of staff to provide this follow-up care.
It’s a Catch-22.
The fudging of the numbers is because of this: staff books the first, required follow-up appointment after the initial evaluation, and must push back the appointment because of the scarcity of staff. They meet their goals of scheduling the first appointment in the required period, but then the veterans seeking mental health care lose.
More than the lack of staffing, the most serious problem is that many veterans who have had their appointments rescheduled no longer feel motivated to seek any additional treatment. Especially with veterans with PTSD, this move is extremely hazardous.
Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, Founder and President of the non-profit Give an Hour, also testified in front of the Senate panel to the disastrous impact of when a veteran is not offered proper mental health treatment.
“[W]e are already seeing the consequences of the failure to identify and provide treatment to those OIF/OEF [Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom] veterans in need as they come home from war.” Dr. Van Dahlen continues by citing that in the veteran population, there has been a drastic increase of homelessness and divorce over the past 10 years.
It is the hope that the investigation that Senator Murray charged Inspector General Opfer with will rectify these major issues.
