Court Blasts VA, Orders Overhaul of Mental Health System

Citing “unchecked incompetence,” a federal appeals court ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 10 to overhaul its mental health care system, reports Paul Elias of the Associated Press.

In its ruling, the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that it often takes weeks for a suicidal vet to get an appointment, and that an average of 18 veterans a day commit suicide. It takes the department four years on average to provide all the mental health benefits to which veterans are entitled, the court said.

In the face of a flood of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, one-third of whom are treated for mental health issues, the VA has exhibited  "unchecked incompetence," the court said.

"No more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote.

The three-judge panel overturned a 2008 district court verdict that a lawsuit filed by two veterans groups seeking an overhaul of the VA was misdirected.

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