Va Takes Heat For Suicides

[boomer2]

Check link

http://www.military.com/news/article/va-takes-heat-for-suicide-prevention-struggles.html?ESRC=eb.nl

[Notorious Kelly]

A lot of us have been there, gang (or sometimes still go there).

The way I look at it- no one gets outta here alive, so might as well enjoy the ride what you can.

Plan something to look forward to!

[Pete53]

This hits close to home. My brother is a VA suicide mainly cause they told him he would never get better and the VA did nbot treat adequately to help. One time he was in an ambulance for 11 hours waiting for VA to admit or send him home.

[Notorious Kelly]

My condolences for your brother, Pete.

A truly tragic event.

[Berta]

I sure hope your brother's survivors sued them.

I have been trying to contact the lawyer representing a vet's family (he committed suicide and the VA even agreed his PTSD treatment was inappropriate)

The veteran's PTSD claim was denied 3 times. After he died however the VA granted 100% P & T SC for PTSD.Right there is an indication of VA malpractice in my opinion.

Something seemed wrong to me about the way the VA appeared to handle this case under FTCA and I contacted VCS (attorney Paul Sullivan's site )to give the veteran's survivor's lawyer some info that might help them).

[broncovet]

Veteran suicide is not JUST about inadequate mental health care...its also about inadequate delivery of Veterans benefits.

I wonder, of those 18 Veteran suicides per day, how many of those are in the million man waiting list for benefits?

I also would like to know if they made VA employees wait an average of 4 years or so for their first check, how many of them would give up and committ suicide?

The VA profits from Veteran suicide in 3 ways:

1. First, the VA no longer has to provide medical care and that saves them money, as deceased Vets require no medical care.

2. Next, of course, the VA saves money in that compensation/pension benefits terminate upon death.

3. Finally, Veterans awaiting benefits who then die sees their claim die with them, so there is no retro.

I also would like to know of the 18 suicides per day, how many were caused, in part or in whole, by the VA?

One Veteran tried to get medical care in Dayton...this is what happened:

http://www.va.gov/oig/54/reports/VAOIG-10-02278-26.pdf

The VAOIG report differs from the newspapers:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/veteran-commits-suicide-in-front-of-dayton-va-center-656012.html

[scscrewed]

There are other horror stories about the Dayton VA that don't make it into OIG reports. Like the suicidal patient seeking mental health treatment striping naked and talking delusional and waiting to see the emergency room psychiatrist under police guard for eight hours, and this same person being able to talk themselves out the stay. Imagine a naked person convincing a psychiatrist that he isn't a threat and that he only took off his clothes in protest. The psychiatrist wrote in the emergency room report that the patient was loquacious but not a serious risk to himself. Now this person didn't kill themselves, so the doctor was right, but they tried and had to have their stomach pumped and be put on a ventilator because the drugs they depressed the CNS to the point they couldn't breathe.

And that's Dayton.