WASHINGTON — Veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health issues often face “unconscionable” waits for treatment that leave them at risk of suicide, according to testimony at a Senate hearing Thursday and new reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general.
The reports come as the VA faces unprecedented demand for mental-health services from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 202,000 veterans from those conflicts have been seen for potential PTSD at VA facilities through March 31, according to data released Wednesday. This is an increase of 10,000 veterans from the last quarterly report.
Retired Army Spec. Daniel Williams, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq from a makeshift bomb that also left him with PTSD, told the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Thursday that when he tried to reschedule an appointment to enable him to testify, he was told he would have to wait four months for a new date.
