Rehab contract sparks new fight between veterans and the Liberal government. Here’s why – National | 24CA News

A multimillion-dollar contract between Ottawa and a non-public firm across the provision of psychological and bodily well being providers for veterans is sparking a brand new combat between the Liberal authorities and Canada’s group of veterans.

The contract had already been closely criticized by the union representing Veterans Affairs Canada staff, together with a whole lot of case managers charged with serving to essentially the most ailing and injured recuperate from their service-related wounds.

But now others, together with veterans and frontline health-care professionals, are additionally beginning to converse up with questions and issues in regards to the deal.

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay has repeatedly defended the $570-million contract with Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services, saying it’ll in the end ship higher providers to former service members.

Yet officers have additionally confirmed the rollout of the PCVRS’s providers is taking longer than anticipated, with the second section now delayed.

Officials say they’re taking their time to get issues proper, however critics say the entire enterprise is in hassle.

PCVRS, which is a three way partnership between Toronto-based non-public health-care firm Lifemark Health Group and an Australian-owned job coaching agency referred to as WCG Services, referred inquiries to Veterans Affairs.

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The authorities is now going through calls to tear up the contract amid broader warnings from the union and its newfound allies in regards to the privatization of veterans’ care.

Awarded to PCVRS in June 2021, the contract got here into impact final November and includes the corporate connecting veterans to bodily, psychological and occupational rehabilitation clinics and suppliers of their native communities.

Veterans Affairs says the deal replaces two earlier contracts, one for the supply of bodily and psychological rehabilitation and the opposite for job coaching. Officials say the brand new deal will save veterans and overworked case managers time and power.

The division additionally insists that the position of case managers, who’re chargeable for serving to essentially the most ailing and injured veterans provide you with and comply with plans for efficiently transitioning into civilian life, will stay largely unchanged.

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In truth, it says that the contract will ease the executive burden on the division’s 450 case managers, most of whom proceed to wrestle with massive caseloads regardless of repeated authorities guarantees to deal with the issue.

Yet these reassurances have accomplished little to assuage the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees, whereas a rising variety of veterans and health-care suppliers are beginning to converse out as effectively.

On Feb. 2, the union hosted a one-day convention in Ottawa involving former service members, veterans’ organizations and medical professionals whose said intention was to debate methods to deal with the various challenges going through the group.

Those embrace ongoing delays and backlogs within the processing of incapacity claims from veterans, the necessity for higher coaching for health-care suppliers and Veterans Affairs workers, and gaps in advantages and providers.

“Are we just going to talk through the same things repeatedly with nothing happening and no change?” mentioned Scott Maxwell, govt director of Wounded Warriors, which supplies mental-health packages for veterans, first responders and households.

“The excitement and energy in that room today for people, either in person or online, around coming together as one to effect change was a huge positive takeaway.”

Many contributors had additionally been invited attributable to their issues and private experiences with the PCVRS contract. Among them was retired sergeant Chris Banks, who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan earlier than being recognized with post-traumatic stress dysfunction.

“I was told I would get a call in (from the company) in early January. It’s now February,” Banks mentioned.

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“I do not have any faith that they are ready to tackle the challenge they have signed themselves up for. And I do not have any faith that they care about the welfare of veterans. They care about their profit.”

The ignorance and understanding in regards to the new association has emerged as a typical theme, with the union, veterans and health-care suppliers additionally complaining a couple of lack of session earlier than the deal was drawn up.

The authorities has mentioned it consulted stakeholders, however these discussions occurred between January and May 2022 _ six months after PCVRS was awarded the contract.

Psychotherapist Alisha Henson, who works with veterans and their households within the Ottawa Valley, mentioned the brand new association took mental-health suppliers in her space without warning.

“People who have been doing this work way longer than I have had zero understanding of it and didn’t even know it was coming,” Henson mentioned on the sidelines of the union-organized convention.

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While PCVRS has since requested her to hitch its community of health-care suppliers, which Veterans Affairs says consists of 9,000 professionals in 600 clinics throughout the nation, Henson mentioned she has many unanswered questions and issues.

Henson and almost two dozen different mental-health suppliers from her space lately launched an open letter laying out quite a few “red flags” in regards to the association, primarily based on their interactions with Lifemark, specifically.

Those embrace added administrative necessities on suppliers, uncertainty over what occurs if these now working with veterans don’t need to be part of PCVRS and reductions on present remuneration charges and evaluation instances.

Henson and the others additionally flagged what they noticed as Lifemark’s failure “to consider the complex nature of this client population” by failing to say “trauma” or “PTSD” in paperwork despatched to practitioners asking them to hitch PCVRS.

“We’re working with veterans. These people have complex trauma, and there’s not one trauma word in this document,” Henson instructed The Canadian Press.

For its half, the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees alleges that key duties are being taken from case managers. Not solely is that this hurting the connection between case managers and veterans, it says, however the deal can be decreasing accountability and including forms.

Veterans began being transitioned over to PCVRS in November, however the division has confirmed that the second section of the rollout that was supposed to begin on Feb. 3 has been delayed.

“We consulted with VAC operations and PCVRS and decided to modify the rollout schedule to make sure phase A participants are fully transitioned over before continuing with phase B,” mentioned Veterans Affairs spokesman Marc Lescoutre.

The union’s nationwide president Virginia Vaillancourt, who has referred to as on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fireplace MacAulay and cancel the PCVRS contract, mentioned a delay isn’t sufficient and the federal government must cease contracting out veterans’ care.

And she’s hoping that enlisting different voices will assist spotlight the issue and get the federal government to begin listening not simply on the contract, however different points as effectively.

“We wanted to look at having that collective voice with veterans and veterans’ organizations and service providers, because we hear from them as well,” she mentioned. “And we know what those concerns are.”