A new report from the Office of Inspector General finds that the VA is not following its own rules when treating veterans who are at a significant risk for suicide.
According to the report, nearly half of new mental health providers hired by the VA fail to complete required suicide prevention training within the mandatory timeframe. Many other VA providers also were found to have failed to fully document patients’ suicide prevention plans and in some cases failed to provide those treatment plans to the veterans themselves.
What is perhaps most alarming about these failures as well as others uncovered in the Inspector General’s report is that the VA has known for years now that about 20 veterans commit suicide every single day. That sad and astonishing number means that 18% of all suicides in the U.S. were veterans. Sadly, despite these dramatic numbers, systematic management and leadership failures have been allowed to continue.
Read more on this story and the OIG’s report by clicking here. The VA’s findings about the number of veteran suicides can be found by clicking here.