^^^PTSD Diagnosis and Lack of Quality Care leads to Suicide^^^

Tweet

Those that have stumbled on my discussions, know that I am always trying to bring to light the frustrating realities our military members and even their families are subjected to. I’ve watched the services and assistances offered dwindle in the last several years, mainly due to de-funding of programs and lack of funding to maintain any existing programs. When I hear about problems surfacing at Walter Reed, I think to myself, “This is not a new problem.” When planning the war in Iraq, or should I say, “When failing to plan…”, those is charge didn’t look long term, they didn’t see the need to ensure that our soldiers would be adequately cared for on return from their war. They didn’t see that after years at this war there would be a need for easy access to VA hospitals, and other support facilities that are supposed to be available to our Vets, but, on a whole, they aren’t. They didn’t forecast over 23,000 soldiers returning with serious wounds and disabilities, nor did they even consider how many would return with mental issues like the commonly diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But then, what should we expect the war itself has been running up a tab that is so extreme, so where do you think they get the money from to pay for it? It comes from cutting needed and necessary services to the military member and their families. When it trickles down, we see lack of staffing at VA hospitals, VA hospitals and clinics closing or falling apart, we see base level programs no longer able to function and offer the needed services to the ones fighting this war. How sad is that. So, this brings me to this article I read, about a Marine who committed suicide after finding out he’d have to wait for care at a VA hospital that is under staffed and doesn’t have enough beds to accommodate: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/13/earlyshow/main2562537.shtml In my opinion, this was such a senseless death, yet the story is more common then most know. It’s too easy to sit the blame on this one VA hospital, because the problem is way bigger than this one hospital—it falls upon lack of money to run these facilities adequately, and a failing war plan that never took into account the health and welfare (long term) of our soldiers.