VA Not Adequately Staffed to Handle Suicidal Veterans

May 24, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Military News

There is a serious problem that is being overlooked concerning the health and welfare of United States veterans. 5,000 veterans commit suicide every year and over 50,000 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Unfortunately, the Department of Veteran Affairs is severely understaffed and typically unable to help these young men and women desperately in need of psychological help. VA officials are painfully aware of this situation but are unable to remedy it.

Congressman Jim Moran, a Democrat from Northern Virginia, recently introduced legislation to create a suicide prevention line for veterans. Hopefully the resolution will pass, creating a 24-hour national toll-free hotline staffed by trained professionals to help members of the Armed Forces who return from war with one of the many disorders commonly afflicting veterans.

Veteran suicides actually account for almost one in five of every suicide attempt in the entire country. Reports are saying that over 20 percent of soldiers currently coming home from Iraq have experienced some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and are an elevated risk of suicide.

An internal report from the VA makes a number of recommendations for helping these at-risk veterans such as a more qualified staff, extra mental-health screening, as well as tracking patients more accurately by storing listing suicidal patients in a database accessible to all VA clinics and hospitals. Another finding of the report is that too many veterans are being turned away from treatment because patients are required to demonstrate “sustained sobriety” before they receive any type of treatment.

The report, citing a lack of funding to help suicidal veterans, was released days after VA secretary, Jim Nicholson, reported he and other officials received almost $4 million in bonuses last year.