- Reaction score
- 3,949
- Points
- 1,260
In a nutshell, from the Auditor General's video about the programming:
Highlights:
Full list of recommendations + VAC's responses here, full report here.
In our audit of mental health services for veterans, we found that Veterans Affairs Canada has put in place important mental health supports.
However, in many cases, the Department is not doing enough to facilitate veterans’ timely access to mental health services and benefits.
Veterans Affairs Canada needs to do more to overcome the barriers that slow veterans’ access to services and benefits. These barriers are a complex application process, delays in obtaining medical and service records from National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, and long wait times for getting access to qualified health care professionals in government-funded operational stress injury clinics.
This means that, from the time they first contact Veterans Affairs Canada, about 20 percent of veterans have to wait more than 8 months before the Department gives them a green light to access specialized mental health services.
We also looked at what Veterans Affairs Canada is doing to increase awareness among various stakeholder groups of the supports it makes available to veterans.
We found that the Department delivers a variety of outreach activities that target its existing clients and soldiers being released from military service. However, it could do more to reach other groups who can encourage veterans to seek help, including in particular family doctors and families of veterans.
Highlights:
....Facilitating access to mental health services
Overall, we found that Veterans Affairs is not adequately facilitating timely access to mental health services. Veterans Affairs Canada has put in place important health supports for veterans, and the Department is providing timely access to the Rehabilitation Program. However, access to the Disability Benefits Program—the program through which most veterans access mental health services—is slow, and the application process is complex. We found that Veterans Affairs Canada has not analyzed the time it takes, from a veteran’s perspective, to receive a Disability Benefits eligibility decision. This finding is important because Veterans Affairs Canada has a legislative responsibility to facilitate access to the specialized care required by veterans with mental health conditions.
Veterans Affairs Canada has put in place important mental health supports
Access to mental health support under the Rehabilitation Program is timely
Eligibility decisions under the Disability Benefits Program are not timely
There are longstanding barriers to timely access to disability benefits
Recommendation (note: this recommendation applies to findings presented in paragraphs 3.25 to 3.43). Veterans Affairs Canada should analyze the Disability Benefits application process, quantify and document barriers to timeliness, and take corrective action. In particular, Veterans Affairs Canada should help those veterans who may require additional assistance with the application process.
Recommendation. National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces should take further steps to accelerate the transfer of service and medical records to Veterans Affairs Canada.
Recommendation. Veterans Affairs Canada should work with the operational stress injury clinics to implement solutions to provide timely access for psychological and psychiatric assessments.
Recommendation. National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces should work with the Operational and Trauma Stress Support Centres to implement solutions to provide timely access for psychological and psychiatric assessments.
Veterans Affairs Canada does not analyze appeal and review decisions to identify systemic problems in its application process (see paragraphs 3.44-3.47)
Recommendation. Veterans Affairs Canada should work with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board to identify whether reasons for successful reviews and appeals indicate a need to modify the application process.
Providing mental health outreach
Overall, we found that Veterans Affairs Canada’s mental health outreach strategy is not comprehensive enough. The strategy focuses on existing veteran clients and military members who are about to be released. We noted more could be done to reach family doctors and families of veterans.
Veterans Affairs Canada outreach activities are not comprehensive enough
Recommendation. Veterans Affairs Canada should update its outreach strategy to include family physicians. The Department should also carry out an outreach strategy that meets the needs of all target audiences.
Managing the Mental Health Strategy
Overall, we found that while Veterans Affairs Canada has developed a mental health strategy, it does not collect information or report on its effectiveness of it. This finding is important because the information would help Veterans Affairs Canada focus its resources to achieve its strategic objectives, determine whether it is achieving these objectives, and adjust its strategy as required to ensure that veterans receive the mental health services they need.
The Department has developed a Mental Health Strategy, but has not assessed and reported on how well this strategy is working ....
Full list of recommendations + VAC's responses here, full report here.