UPDATE: PENTAGON CLAIMS GAO REPORT ON COMBAT STRESS IS

FLAWED -- "NO MILITARY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAS

DONE MORE TO EVALUATE, PREVENT AND TREAT...

MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS..."

Background here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20MAY%2006/newsflash05-11-2006-9.htm

Today's story here... http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/14558676.htm

Today's story below:

---------------

GAO report on combat stress is flawed, military says

By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
The Star’s Washington correspondent

“No military in the history of the world has done more to evaluate, prevent and treat the mental health needs and concerns of its soldiers than this Department of Defense.”
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs

WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials on Thursday said that a critical government review of their efforts to treat soldiers who may be suffering from post-combat stress was “flawed.”

“No military in the history of the world has done more to evaluate, prevent and treat the mental health needs and concerns of its soldiers than this Department of Defense,” said William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

He was responding to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday that found that eight out of 10 soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan who showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder were not referred for further mental health treatment. The results of the study were first revealed in The Kansas City Star.

The study said that less than a quarter of those soldiers at risk for PTSD — 22 percent — received additional help.

But “help and support comes in a variety of ways,” Winkenwerder said in an interview with reporters.

He said the GAO study “does not reflect the program support that is being delivered or the excellence of the program.”

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can cause serious psychiatric and social problems.

It can be triggered by witnessing a traumatic event, such as war, and can lead to drug addiction, homelessness and suicide.

Veterans groups have been critical of the government’s steps to acknowledge the extent of the disorder among soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Star reported recently that the Department of Veterans Affairs had greatly underestimated the number of troops expected to return from the battle zone this year that would be at risk for PTSD.

Defense officials agreed with the GAO’s recommendation that they needed to clearly define the factors used by medical clinicians to determine whether to refer a soldier at risk for PTSD for further treatment.

The GAO found that each of the military services had different referral rates.

But defense officials disagreed with the GAO conclusion that the department could not provide assurances that soldiers who needed referrals would get them.

Winkenwerder said that referrals depend on the judgment of the clinicians, who are familiar with the demands of combat.

In its response, the Defense Department said that not every soldier who shows signs of being at risk for PTSD needs additional help.

It noted that “watchful waiting” was sometimes more appropriate.

“There are not reasons not to refer anybody who might need help,” Winkenwerder said.

“We believe our people are making good judgments. We don’t have any reason to second-guess at this point.”

To reach David Goldstein, Washington correspondent, call (202) 383-6105 or send e-mail to dgoldstein@krwashington.com  .

---------------

Larry Scott

(go back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page)

	Web www.vawatchdog.org

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such materials available in an effort to advance understanding of veterans' issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml   If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
 

Now we have VA Watchdog Stuff

Cups, Hats, Shirts and more

Click here to order and support the site