For some Canadian Veteransstruggling to access critical support services can feel like a predictable trajectory. Hmm.
"Refuse, procrastinate, and die," said Debbie Lowther, executive her director ofveterans relief charityVETS Canadasaid Mr. "We hear it quite regularly."
The grim stakes in the struggle to access care and support are once again in the spotlight amid outrage andretirements. The Department of Armed Forcescalls for an investigation into incidents of employees in Canada (VAC) discussing health care. As was first reported by Global News on August 16, a
source told Global News that VAC Services her agent had died of medical assistance (MAID). ) without being prompted. A conversation with a veteran seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Global News has not identified any veterans seeking treatment.
Story Continues Below Ad
Read More: Euthanasia Requested , Veterans Affairs Mental Health Support Provided Suspicious: Advocate
Multiple sources told Global News that veterans have never raised the issue. , who weren't even looking for MAID and were deeply shaken by the suggestion. Did.
Sources close to the veterans say he and his family are fed up with the conversation and feel betrayed by the department empowered to help veterans. Sources said the veteran had sought services to recover from injuries sustained in his line of duty and was experiencing improved mental and physical health. They say the maid's sudden mention stunted his progress and was detrimental to the veteran's progress and the well-being of his family. He added that it raises serious concerns.
"If you have a veteran who is already struggling with mental health and contemplating suicide, this is the opportunity presented to them." For some, the thought of taking their own life and having their loved ones find their bodies may have deterred suicidal thoughts, she explained. } The story continues under the ad
But when presented with the option of medically assisted death instead, Lowther said, "It could have very, very detrimental consequences. There is."
Canadian law states that: Medically assisted death can only be discussed between primary care personnel and providers such as physicians or psychiatrists and their patients.
The incident raises questions about the training being given to VAC personnel and the Conservative Party is now calling for an investigation.
They asked, among other concerns, whether similar proposals had been made to other veterans and whether any veterans had acted upon the proposals and chosen to die. I want to know.
"I don't know if this was policy, written, written, or passed on to people. So I am asking the government to commit to a full investigation."
The story continues under the ad
``We need to know how this happened. We also need to know if there were any others.Did the veterans take the government up on this?These are unanswered questions.”
Read More: VA says workers "inappropriately" discussed medically assisted death with veterans
VA Minister Lawrence Macaulay said Monday In a statement, he said he had asked the deputy minister to "make sure this does not happen again".
Speaking about the background, officials said case managers have sensitivity and crisis training in case a veteran raises a death support issue themselves, but they do not provide services.
NDP veterans commentator Rachel Blaney called the case a slam dunk of funding for veterans services for decades. He called it a sign of a "deep wound" that had been successively cut.
She pointed to a report filed earlier this year by Chief Accountant Karen Hogan. The report urged the government to commit to Veterans Affairs Canada's Long-Term Funding Plan, which has not met its goals for disability benefits. Timely veterans.
READ MORE: Federal Reserve to hire more staff to deal with veterans backlog We are committed to: Minister
The department's standard of service will address 80% of cases seeking benefits within 16 weeks. I am aiming for Instead, the audit found that the median wait time was 37 weeks for the Canadian military veteran and 51 weeks for him among the RCMP veterans.
That audit found that Veterans Affairs Canada had achieved only 39% of her goals.
"This is symptomatic of a much larger, longstanding problem of not getting the support that veterans need when they need it," he said Blaney.
“We hear from veteran employees, the V.A., that more resources are needed.
– With files from Sean Boynton of Global News
If you or someone you know has a mental health problem If so, please visit this Government of Canada website:
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
