A V.A. suicide hotline featured in Oscar-winning documentary "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1" has drawn criticism after investigators found that the helpline was letting calls go straight to voicemail and was struggling with inadequate staff, according to USA Today.
Investigators found that calls made to the hotline were transferred to third-party backup crisis centers after the staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs suicide hotline center in Canandaigua, N.Y., were only answering calls that they could handle, according to an inspector general's report.
"We substantiated allegations that some calls routed to backup crisis centers were answered by voicemail, and callers did not always receive immediate assistance," the report said.
The investigation was conducted "in response to allegations involving unanswered phone calls or calls routed to a voicemail system, lack of immediate assistance to callers, ambulance timeliness, untrained staff, and confusing contact information."
"Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1" followed the lives of Veterans' Crisis Line counselors who provide round-the-clock support to servicemen. The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, as HNGN previously reported.
The hotline, which was set up in 2007 to deal with the increasing number of suicides among service members, has handled nearly 2 million calls and saves more than 50,000 lives.
McDonald: Veterans should have access to VA systems and know where to get accurate answers 24 hours a day. pic.twitter.com/ZhSxrLjOkr
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) February 10, 2016
Although the inspector general's report does not state how many calls went unanswered at the New York crisis center's hotline, it did mention that the number of calls that were routed to third party back-up centers has surged from 36,261 in 2013 to 76,887 in 2014.
The V.A. assented to the findings of the report and made suggestions to ensure that no calls went unanswered and that the staff was given proper training. V.A. spokesman, Victoria Dillon, said that changes were already underway at the Canandaigua center and efforts to increase the center's workforce were announced about a year ago.
"Systems are being reviewed and action plans have been developed to resolve the issues and address the OIG (Officer of Inspector General) recommendations," said Dillon, before assuring that all the improvements will be made by September, USA Today reported.
"These improvements are already beginning to show that we are increasing our capacity to speak with the veterans who need us," said V.A. Secretary Robert McDonald in September.
