On mental health, the department has an incredible suite of services related to mental health. We have over 4,000 mental health practitioners coast to coast to coast on contract with us. If a veteran needs help and if we don't have our OSI clinics there, they can get to the services.
We have to realize that our programs are based on need and based on the service relationship. Eligibility is very complex and we're trying to facilitate that, but generally speaking those are the two areas, and there's a series of services available. We actually pay for psychologists and psychiatrists. We actually pay the provinces to run our OSI clinics that are dedicated to our proud men and women in uniform, and to the RCMP, who can get their services.
Is there a wait time? Yes, sometimes in a certain clinic you may have to wait a week or 15 days to see a psychologist. If you try to see a psychologist in many parts of this country.... I know that there are even some provinces where psychiatrists are at a premium and it will take you a year to see one. With us, it's about 15 days. Some veterans do think it's too long to wait 15 days.
We have to understand, though, if they are in a crisis, the service is immediate. We work with the hospitals, with the doctors, with the professionals.
I think what they're referencing is that when they put in a claim with us, the whole adjudication process that I talked about earlier.... We will get them in for PTSD quickly, but the entire process will take 16 or 17 weeks. They need medical diagnostics. We're not doctors, but a doctor has to say, “You have PTSD”, or “You have a bad knee”. We cover everything.
The OAG did highlight the timelines it takes to get there, and we're working on accelerating that. I believe, without having been at that round table, that some of the comments about waiting are not so much about the treatment, it's about the adjudication process that comes with treatment but also comes with disability awards, which come with disability pensions, which come with other services. I know there is a real frustration in the veteran community surrounding some of those timelines.