~
CF Ombudsman,
I had requested, through my Member of Parliament, a Ministerial Inquiry into the CF Health Services Group policy of not allowing CF Doctors to take the time to represent soldiers who are putting in a claim to DVA or help them with the Review Hearing.
It has been 5 weeks and I have sent 3 hasteners already to get some information on the case. I fear that my request has been put aside.
I request assistance from your office to see where this is and what initial action has been taken (I had requested the policy be suspended until an investigation was conducted).
Today in the news I noted that the crew members of the HMCS Chicoutimi are being assisted by DND with DVA and was wondering if there were other cases that would eventually come up. The crew of the HMCS Chicoutimi had been experiencing problems with DVA in the past and now it seems like DND has taken the lead in fixing this mess.
I await your findings.
Thank you in advance.
About Me
- Robin Brentnall
- Gambo, Newfoundland, Canada
- I spent 23 years in the military.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
LIES THIS RECRUITER TOLD YOU
~
It is time to come clean.
It is time I apologized to all those wonderful young (and not so young) Canadians who had asked me the question "'What about Harassment"? "What if I'm injured"?
It is time I apologized to all those parents whom I looked straight in the eye and said "Don't Worry, We Take Care Of Them, I Promise".
I was a Canadian Forces Recruiter for 4 years from 2000-2004 in Northern Alberta. My mandate was Post-Secondary Instituitions, Secondary Schools, and at times, Aboriginal and Minority Recruiter. During my tenure, I had been asked about Harassment and what happens if a person is injured nearly every day, most days on several occasions.
Having been harassed myself and sexually assaulted, I covered up my embarrassing episode and told applicants that it does not happen anymore and if it does, it is dealt with severely. Having also been injured, I told them that everything would be fixed or compensated for.
After leaving the Recruiting Centre, I was posted back to the "real military world" and within six months was being harassed, along with one of my soldiers. I complained on several occasions and it was taken care of: I was moved to another unit and replaced with a person who was on the brink of being charged with harassment and shortly after arriving in my position, was once again harassing the staff of my former office.
In 2006, I became ill. I could not believe that the military that I loved would let this happen again. The stress of what had happened pushed me over the limit and I suffered a stroke.
While trying to recover from the effects of the stroke, I asked to work at the Recruiting Centre due to not being able to do much except talk and I was excited about the opportunity to do my part again. But when the same questions of harassment came up again, this soldier had to lie in order to keep applicants from walking out the door.
I removed myself from that situation. I pass on my sincere apologies to anyone who heard my enthusiastic speeches, listened to my tales of excitement about the Canadian Forces, and joined only to be harassed since then or injured and had to fight for compensation, just as I am still doing, after being denied time and again.
My career is over, ripped apart by the stupidity of a few soldiers and bureaucrats who do not share the same respect for people as most soldiers do. I hope you never fall prey to those few and I pray that you have an exciting and rewarding career serving this great country, just as I promised you.
It is time to come clean.
It is time I apologized to all those wonderful young (and not so young) Canadians who had asked me the question "'What about Harassment"? "What if I'm injured"?
It is time I apologized to all those parents whom I looked straight in the eye and said "Don't Worry, We Take Care Of Them, I Promise".
I was a Canadian Forces Recruiter for 4 years from 2000-2004 in Northern Alberta. My mandate was Post-Secondary Instituitions, Secondary Schools, and at times, Aboriginal and Minority Recruiter. During my tenure, I had been asked about Harassment and what happens if a person is injured nearly every day, most days on several occasions.
Having been harassed myself and sexually assaulted, I covered up my embarrassing episode and told applicants that it does not happen anymore and if it does, it is dealt with severely. Having also been injured, I told them that everything would be fixed or compensated for.
After leaving the Recruiting Centre, I was posted back to the "real military world" and within six months was being harassed, along with one of my soldiers. I complained on several occasions and it was taken care of: I was moved to another unit and replaced with a person who was on the brink of being charged with harassment and shortly after arriving in my position, was once again harassing the staff of my former office.
In 2006, I became ill. I could not believe that the military that I loved would let this happen again. The stress of what had happened pushed me over the limit and I suffered a stroke.
While trying to recover from the effects of the stroke, I asked to work at the Recruiting Centre due to not being able to do much except talk and I was excited about the opportunity to do my part again. But when the same questions of harassment came up again, this soldier had to lie in order to keep applicants from walking out the door.
I removed myself from that situation. I pass on my sincere apologies to anyone who heard my enthusiastic speeches, listened to my tales of excitement about the Canadian Forces, and joined only to be harassed since then or injured and had to fight for compensation, just as I am still doing, after being denied time and again.
My career is over, ripped apart by the stupidity of a few soldiers and bureaucrats who do not share the same respect for people as most soldiers do. I hope you never fall prey to those few and I pray that you have an exciting and rewarding career serving this great country, just as I promised you.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
E-MAIL TO REX MURPHY
~
Mr. Rex Murphy,
The Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence are letting it's soldiers down. The only soldier who is able to stop this is General Rick Hillier, but he seems to be so upset with the bureaucracy that our politicians have placed on our soldiers that even he has decided to leave to military, all of this at a time when the Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence went selling a Recruiting campaign by telling Canadians of the money being spent on new toys and the need for more soldiers.
Yet, our soldiers are being neglected medically by our very own Canadian Forces Health Services Group. As confirmed in a letter from the Minister of Veterans Affairs dated 23 May 2008 which states "on April 1, 2006, the Department of National Defence made the decision not to provide Veterans Affairs Canada with additional medical reports and opinions in support of the disability benefits program." This is basically saying that if a soldier becomes injured, the CF Health Services Group will not help the soldier with their compensation claim. However, they do go through a great deal of paperwork to provide SISIP Disability Insurance (operated through Manulife) and Canada Pension Plan applications for those soldiers so medically unfit to work. Why can't they do this for Veterans Affairs as well?
This is only the tip of the iceburg. On 3 June 2008, I went to the Mental Health Services to see if my appointment with the psychiatrist could be moved up. I had been waiting for 5 weeks already, even though my Doctor, my Psychologist, and a Social Worker were very concerned with the tendancies that I had started to show that included shouting and swearing on the staff at Veterans Affairs and firing my first doctor for refusing to help me when I had pains in my chest and with my compensation claim with DVA. I had been having "out of body" experiences and was finding it very difficult to control my anger. I had been dreaming very vivid dreams that all seemed to involve hurting people and it was starting to consume me. Couple this with having to wait more than a month to get my release paperwork signed and now having to wait another month to get an appointment just to start planning my retirement move, I lost it. It should be noted that the office where that happened was the same office that I was sexually assaulted two times and had complained of harassment, nothing of which was done about it except to promote the harasser/sexual assaulter.
I immediately went to Mental Health services. While asking the secretary for an earlier appointment to see my psychiatrist, I was informed that there was an opening on 4 June but I couldn't have it because it was only one hour long and I needed to have a 2.5 hour appointment. I told the secretary that I was having a lot of touble and was very angry with our administrative staff for their uncaring attitude and inability to get me an appointment or find my paperwork, which they had lost 3 times already.
I blew up. Watching myself rant and rave at the secretary, I had to force myself to leave which was very difficult. The next thing I remember was sitting at Tim Horton's drinking a coffee. I don't know how I got there.
Is this the reason or conditions that may have caused that man in Calgary to murdered his family because of a lack of judgement on the staff members at his psychiatrist office?
It took three weeks to even set up an appointment with my psychiatrist, even after being considered a "Rush" by my doctor. Then the appointment that was booked was for 4 weeks down the road. It's a good thing that it was a "rush".
Our soldiers need help. I need your help.
Mr. Rex Murphy,
The Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence are letting it's soldiers down. The only soldier who is able to stop this is General Rick Hillier, but he seems to be so upset with the bureaucracy that our politicians have placed on our soldiers that even he has decided to leave to military, all of this at a time when the Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence went selling a Recruiting campaign by telling Canadians of the money being spent on new toys and the need for more soldiers.
Yet, our soldiers are being neglected medically by our very own Canadian Forces Health Services Group. As confirmed in a letter from the Minister of Veterans Affairs dated 23 May 2008 which states "on April 1, 2006, the Department of National Defence made the decision not to provide Veterans Affairs Canada with additional medical reports and opinions in support of the disability benefits program." This is basically saying that if a soldier becomes injured, the CF Health Services Group will not help the soldier with their compensation claim. However, they do go through a great deal of paperwork to provide SISIP Disability Insurance (operated through Manulife) and Canada Pension Plan applications for those soldiers so medically unfit to work. Why can't they do this for Veterans Affairs as well?
This is only the tip of the iceburg. On 3 June 2008, I went to the Mental Health Services to see if my appointment with the psychiatrist could be moved up. I had been waiting for 5 weeks already, even though my Doctor, my Psychologist, and a Social Worker were very concerned with the tendancies that I had started to show that included shouting and swearing on the staff at Veterans Affairs and firing my first doctor for refusing to help me when I had pains in my chest and with my compensation claim with DVA. I had been having "out of body" experiences and was finding it very difficult to control my anger. I had been dreaming very vivid dreams that all seemed to involve hurting people and it was starting to consume me. Couple this with having to wait more than a month to get my release paperwork signed and now having to wait another month to get an appointment just to start planning my retirement move, I lost it. It should be noted that the office where that happened was the same office that I was sexually assaulted two times and had complained of harassment, nothing of which was done about it except to promote the harasser/sexual assaulter.
I immediately went to Mental Health services. While asking the secretary for an earlier appointment to see my psychiatrist, I was informed that there was an opening on 4 June but I couldn't have it because it was only one hour long and I needed to have a 2.5 hour appointment. I told the secretary that I was having a lot of touble and was very angry with our administrative staff for their uncaring attitude and inability to get me an appointment or find my paperwork, which they had lost 3 times already.
I blew up. Watching myself rant and rave at the secretary, I had to force myself to leave which was very difficult. The next thing I remember was sitting at Tim Horton's drinking a coffee. I don't know how I got there.
Is this the reason or conditions that may have caused that man in Calgary to murdered his family because of a lack of judgement on the staff members at his psychiatrist office?
It took three weeks to even set up an appointment with my psychiatrist, even after being considered a "Rush" by my doctor. Then the appointment that was booked was for 4 weeks down the road. It's a good thing that it was a "rush".
Our soldiers need help. I need your help.
AN E-MAIL TO THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE
Mr. Prime Minister,
On 13 May 2008, Liberal MP Scott Simms, sent a letter on my behalf asking for a Ministerial Inquiry into the policy inacted on 01 April 2006 which the Department of National Defence made a decision not to provide information (except a medical file) to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I asked in that letter to have the policy suspended until a decision on it's continuation was reached.
Has the policy been suspended and if not, why?
Sergeant Robin Brentnall, CD
On 13 May 2008, Liberal MP Scott Simms, sent a letter on my behalf asking for a Ministerial Inquiry into the policy inacted on 01 April 2006 which the Department of National Defence made a decision not to provide information (except a medical file) to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I asked in that letter to have the policy suspended until a decision on it's continuation was reached.
Has the policy been suspended and if not, why?
Sergeant Robin Brentnall, CD
Monday, June 2, 2008
ARE YOU WITH US?
~
I've been trying to get a Lawyer who has the guts to fight Ottawa for us. Not even the ex-JAG lawyer will take the case unless I pay out thousands of dollars in advance!!! There are too many legal loopholes in the system to make it worth while to fight.
I guess only the rich will get satisfaction. Typical of our government.
But I will keep fighting.
I could use any help you can provide, whether it is just support or sending a letter to your own Member of Parliament or requesting a Ministerial Inquiry as I have done (previous month article). The rich run and hide when the poor come in a large group. The government caves in to pressure when it is relentless and organized.
Let's show them how many of us there are!!!
I've been trying to get a Lawyer who has the guts to fight Ottawa for us. Not even the ex-JAG lawyer will take the case unless I pay out thousands of dollars in advance!!! There are too many legal loopholes in the system to make it worth while to fight.
I guess only the rich will get satisfaction. Typical of our government.
But I will keep fighting.
I could use any help you can provide, whether it is just support or sending a letter to your own Member of Parliament or requesting a Ministerial Inquiry as I have done (previous month article). The rich run and hide when the poor come in a large group. The government caves in to pressure when it is relentless and organized.
Let's show them how many of us there are!!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
NEWS ARTICLE REQUESTED
.
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?
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?
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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