A senate committee yesterday called for the investigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ mental health services, including an audit of its $5.7 billion budget.
The Washington Post reports that Michelle Washington, director of post-traumatic stress disorder services at the Wilmington VA Medical Center in Delaware said facility managers “[spend] their time ‘gaming’ the system to meet goal numbers rather than providing needed mental health care for veterans.”
“Washington testified that all psychologists at the center have been directed to see four new patients a week to meet the VA’s goal that all veterans seeking mental health care be fully evaluated within 14 days. The scheduling is done ‘by clerks pressured by management to make the system look good,’ Washington said. But Washington said that no provision has been made for follow-up care, meaning that patients have to wait four to six weeks for follow-up appointments. Returning patients often have their appointments moved back to make room for new ones, she said. The long waits often end up frustrating and scaring off veterans who have made the decision to seek help, she said. Moreover, Washington said, the initial visit is often little more than an administrative meeting to gather information rather than a medical evaluation.”
A previously published study revealed that in the coming years, the amount of money the VA will spend on mental health care for veterans is likely to increase dramatically as more veterans return home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA has seen a 34-percent increase in the number of veterans seeking mental health services since 2006, reaching more than 1.2 million veterans who utilized its services in 2010.
In related news, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s most recent newsletter focuses on the reasons military personnel who are going through counseling are choosing private-sector providers in lieu of military therapists.
Source: The Washington Post
Heather Rudow is a staff writer for Counseling Today. Email her at hrudow@counseling.org.