.
The new Veterans Charter states that soldiers have a right to be treated with respect, dignity, fairness and courtesy.
To date, a Canadian Forces Sergeant has been battling Ottawa over the policies and procedures that have caused much disillusionment in the way our veterans and soldiers are treated when they apply to get compensation for their injuries.
A Ministerial Inquiry into the policy of not allowing doctors to represent soldiers to Veterans Affairs, has been requested and forwarded to the Minister of National Defence on 13 May 2008 requesting an investigation into the effects of the policy and asking that the policy be suspended until a recommendation into it's continuation or permanent suspension is received. The Minister of Veterans Affairs was also provided with an information copy of the letter.
The Canadian Forces Health Services Group has ordered military and civilian doctors working for National Defence not to discuss or provide the Department of Veterans Affairs with any information except the medical file of the soldier. When a soldier asks their doctor for a letter or any other assistance dealing with Veterans Affairs, they are told they are not permitted to assist the soldier due to the policy.
When this policy was questioned at Canadian Forces Health Services Group, it was revealed that by allowing military and civilian doctors to assist soldiers with their claims process at Veterans Affairs, it would create a Conflict of Interest and an Ethical Issue. Helping our soldiers should never be considered a conflict of interest or an ethical issue.
The continued fight to get fairness and transparency in the Adjudication process at Veterans Affairs is into it's 16th month and to date the Sergeant is yet to receive the Review Hearing that is supposed to be afforded to soldiers and veterans.
However, the Sergeant has been informed that his medical condition has caused the Canadian Forces to determine that he is "unfit work in any Military environment" and will be released from the service for his medical conditions, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs refuses to compensate him for the injuries and has repeatedly denied his claims due to "insufficient medical information".
Truth is there is insufficient medical expertise at Veterans Affairs. Adjudicators are not medical specialists, which explains the apparent inability to provide a respectful, dignified, fair, and courteous compensation award to our injured soldiers.
So I ask: What does the Veterans Charter mean when it states: Respect, Dignity, Fairness, and Courtesy?
About Me
- Robin Brentnall
- Gambo, Newfoundland, Canada
- I spent 23 years in the military.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
SOLDIERS FIGHTING UP HILL BATTLE FOR INJURY COMPENSATION - UPDATE
...
The following article, which was published in the Edmonton Journal on 13 April 2008, has caused the DND/CF Ombudsman's office to decide to investigate the reasoning for Canadian Forces Health Services Group to forbid it's doctors to provide our soldiers with the extra, crucial information required to expedite and increase the amount of claims for injuries to Veterans Affairs:
It has been uncovered that Canadian soldiers are forced to use a poor, archaic system developed to adjudicate compensation claims for soldiers who have been injured on duty at home and abroad.
Soldiers face an uphill battle putting in a claim with Veterans Affairs and are forced to fight a convoluted quagmire of bureaucracy when seeking compensation.
Military doctors are ordered not to share additional verbal or written information with DVA when a claim requires their input to clarify and augment the information on the medical file. This causes problems with the claim process and in a great number of cases, the claim is denied and the soldier is forced to seek help from the Legion or the Bureau of Pensions Advocates.
Veterans Affairs has been handcuffed with this "soldier stressful" policy and will either deny the claim or pay out the minimum that is required, 5% to 20% in most cases.
This has put much stress and strain on the injured soldier. Many simply accept the decision and carry on, believing the betrayal is standard practice and is unbeatable.
After launching numerous complaints to the Ombudsman for DND and DVA, it has become necessary to seek assistance from my Member of Parliament and other government officials. Each believes there is a grave injustice in this process and supports my quest to get it fixed.
Military doctors are too busy to provide any additional information. But a doctor's first concern should be the soldier and the emotional stress this policy inflects on them, and by taking a few minutes to answer questions from DVA, it would help both mentally and physically in the soldier's recovery. Instead, soldiers are symbolically left to patch their own wounds, find their own cures, and dig their own graves when trying to prove their claims.
If doctors were ordered to provide information, it would save time, money, and stress on soldiers who have already given everything for their country. DVA currently suggests that soldiers seek outside medical advice from civilian doctors, but those doctors have no medical records or history on the soldier's injuries.
So much money wasted by ignoring a simple, economic, soldier friendly solution to reinforce the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS slogan.
The following article, which was published in the Edmonton Journal on 13 April 2008, has caused the DND/CF Ombudsman's office to decide to investigate the reasoning for Canadian Forces Health Services Group to forbid it's doctors to provide our soldiers with the extra, crucial information required to expedite and increase the amount of claims for injuries to Veterans Affairs:
It has been uncovered that Canadian soldiers are forced to use a poor, archaic system developed to adjudicate compensation claims for soldiers who have been injured on duty at home and abroad.
Soldiers face an uphill battle putting in a claim with Veterans Affairs and are forced to fight a convoluted quagmire of bureaucracy when seeking compensation.
Military doctors are ordered not to share additional verbal or written information with DVA when a claim requires their input to clarify and augment the information on the medical file. This causes problems with the claim process and in a great number of cases, the claim is denied and the soldier is forced to seek help from the Legion or the Bureau of Pensions Advocates.
Veterans Affairs has been handcuffed with this "soldier stressful" policy and will either deny the claim or pay out the minimum that is required, 5% to 20% in most cases.
This has put much stress and strain on the injured soldier. Many simply accept the decision and carry on, believing the betrayal is standard practice and is unbeatable.
After launching numerous complaints to the Ombudsman for DND and DVA, it has become necessary to seek assistance from my Member of Parliament and other government officials. Each believes there is a grave injustice in this process and supports my quest to get it fixed.
Military doctors are too busy to provide any additional information. But a doctor's first concern should be the soldier and the emotional stress this policy inflects on them, and by taking a few minutes to answer questions from DVA, it would help both mentally and physically in the soldier's recovery. Instead, soldiers are symbolically left to patch their own wounds, find their own cures, and dig their own graves when trying to prove their claims.
If doctors were ordered to provide information, it would save time, money, and stress on soldiers who have already given everything for their country. DVA currently suggests that soldiers seek outside medical advice from civilian doctors, but those doctors have no medical records or history on the soldier's injuries.
So much money wasted by ignoring a simple, economic, soldier friendly solution to reinforce the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS slogan.
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