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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Canada:PTSD pushes care to breaking point

Too many stressed soldiers slip through cracks: report
The Canadian Press - OTTAWA


Too many stressed soldiers slip through cracks: report
2 hours ago

OTTAWA — Some Canadian Forces personnel who suffer from operational stress injuries are not being diagnosed and are not getting the care and treatment they need "to continue to be contributing members" of society, says a report by the military ombudsman.

The assessment, obtained by The Canadian Press, says 18 of the 31 recommendations made in a 2002 report on operational stress have not been fully implemented, including the appointment of a national co-ordinator for issues related to operational stress injuries.

More needs to be done to prevent soldiers, sailors and air crew from falling through the cracks, Ombudsman Mary McFadyen says in the followup report being released Wednesday.

"Clearly, the environment in which Canada's military has been operating in recent years has changed dramatically," she says in the 62-page report. "With the mission in Afghanistan, the level and intensity of combat operations have increased substantially. . . .

"A significant number of soldiers are returning from overseas deployments suffering with mental health issues. . . . It has also become evident that the Canadian Forces and Canadian Forces members are strained almost to the breaking point."

"Injured soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen who have served their country with courage and dedication are slipping through the cracks of an ad hoc system.

"The consequences for individuals who fall through the cracks are often devastating and long lasting."

Mental-health caregivers from virtually every military establishment pointed to myths, and stereotypes associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries as persistent problems, McFadyen says.

"The negative stigma associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries remains a real problem at a number of military establishments across the country," she reports. click link above for more

2 comments:

  1. not a surprise....va and the gov of Canada cannot figure out parliamentary process never mind what happens when politics extend to beyond our borders using our military....I talked with the office of Stockwell Day last October and the gov of Canada Definition for stress in Emergency Services First Responders is the difficulty putting on a haz mat suite. That from the Arnprior School for Disaster...it is a joke.
    And the military is not lauging...
    Shannon H. Pennington
    ptsd firefighterveteran
    Senior Chief Administrative
    North American Fire Figher Veterans
    Network

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Shannon,
    Well that's why there are people like us out there, but the problem is, there are not enough of us to do enough good. There are problems with veterans and PTSD in many nations. The US happens to have the most simply because we have more veterans. The real problem here is that if we cannot take care of veterans with PTSD, what hope do civilians have?

    USA has over 7 million people with PTSD. Every advance we've made was made because Vietnam Vets came back and fought for it and in turn the general public was helped by the programs begun to address the wounds veterans carry. The fact we let, as well as Canada, so many veterans just fend for themselves, we are adding stress to their wounds. Shame on the governments!

    I'm doing what I can and I know you are moving mountains. We just have to keep on trying until we get all the mountains out of their way so they can heal.

    ReplyDelete

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