As Santa Barbara VA Flails, Many Suffer

A review of 100 cases nationwide found vets waited an average of 26 days from their first request for mental-health treatment to get an appointment. Some waited up to 279 days. Others were forced to go 57 days after their first assessment to begin treatment. VA officials said they’re taking the report seriously. The department admitted individual clinics are having a hard time meeting demands but noted hiring goals have been reached at the national level. The VA hired 5,300 mental-health clinicians and administrative staff from 2012-2013, and increased mental-health staffing by a fourth between 2010 and 2014. Still, a federal audit released this August says the VA hasn’t been effective in its hiring opportunities or using existing personnel to improve access to timely care. The agency doesn’t have a good way of determining staffing needs at specific locations, and so 94 of 140 facilities are still short of psychiatrists. The deficit is exacerbated by a countrywide scarcity of psychiatrists in general.