[humanser] Mental Health Issues Among Soldiers Still Increasing

[Mary Ann Robinson]

More than Half of Recent War Vets Treated by VA Are Struggling
With Mental Health Problems
  Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica May 11, 2011
  More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in
Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals since 2002 have been
diagnosed, at least preliminarily, with mental health problems,
according to statistics obtained by the advocacy group Veterans
for Common Sense.
  The data, which is released quarterly, also shows that the raw
number of returning soldiers with psychological problems is
rising.  Nearly 18,000 new patients were treated for mental
health issues at VA facilities in the last three months of last
year-the most recent time period for which data is
available-upping the total to more than 330,000.
  The latest numbers confirm a trend that has intensified over
the last several years.  Paul Sullivan, the executive director of
Veterans for Common Sense, said that when the organization first
began to collect the data in late 2004, only 20 percent of Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans in VA hospitals had been diagnosed with
mental problems.
  The increase should come as no surprise given that a recent
military survey, obtained by ProPublica and other media outlets,
shows that U.S.  troops in Afghanistan are currently reporting
lower morale and greater emotional strain than at any other time
in the last five years.  That report notes that mental health
staffing has doubled in warzones in order to ensure treatment is
available immediately for soldiers who suffer psychological
trauma.  Sullivan applauded the increase in staff abroad, but
questioned whatbs being done to make sure that troubled troops
are properly cared for once they come home.
  "We truly support having more doctors in warzones, thatbs
great," Sullivan said.  "But we also need to make sure we have
enough doctors here."
  Laurie Tranter, a spokeswoman for the VA, told ProPublica that
the agency has increased the number of mental health staff in the
U.S.  by more than 40 percent since 2002 to more than 20,000.
Tranter suggested that the increase in veterans diagnosed with
and treated for mental health problems may, in part, reflect more
proactive screening and better access to services.
  Pressure is mounting on the military and the VA to fix
long-standing shortfalls in mental health care.  A federal
appeals court issued a scathing opinion of the VA's system
yesterday, noting that it takes an average of four years for
veterans to receive mental health benefits, a beleaguered process
that demands immediate reform.  Writing for a three-judge panel,
Judge Stephen Reinhart said, "Although the VA is obligated to
provide veterans mental health services, many veterans with
severe depression or post-traumatic stress disorder bPTSAID) are
forced to wait weeks for mental health referrals...  For those
who commit suicide in the interim, care does not come soon
enough."
  As reported by the Associated Press, the ruling by the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a 2008 verdict and sends the
case, which was filed against the VA by veterans' advocates, back
to U.S.  District Court for resolution.
  B plus Alterationet Mobile Edition
_______________________________________________