In a scathing appraisal, a review ordered by President Barack Obama of the troubled Veterans Affairs health care system concludes that medical care for veterans is beset by "significant and chronic system failures," substantially verifying problems raised by whistleblowers and internal and congressional investigators.
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A summary of the review by deputy White House chief of staff Rob Nabors says the Veterans Health Administration must be restructured and that a "corrosive culture" has hurt morale and affected the timeliness of health care. The review also found that a 14-day standard for scheduling veterans' medical appointments is unrealistic and that some employees manipulated the wait times so they would appear to be shorter.
The review is the latest blistering assessment of the VA in the wake of reports of patients dying while waiting for appointments and of treatment delays in VA facilities nationwide. The White House released a summary of the review following President Barack Obama's meeting Friday with Nabors and Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson.
The review offers a series of recommendations, including a need for more doctors, nurses and trained administrative staff.
"We know that unacceptable, systemic problems and cultural issues within our health system prevent veterans from receiving timely care," Gibson said in a statement. "We can and must solve these problems as we work to earn back the trust of veterans."
Nabors' report found that the VHA, the country's biggest health care system, acts with little transparency or accountability and many recommendations to improve care are slowly implemented or ignored. The VHA serves nearly 8.8 million veterans a year in more than 1,700 health care sites. But the report says concerns raised by the public, monitors or even VA leadership, the report said, have been dismissed at the VHA as "exaggerated, unimportant, or 'will pass.'"
Among Nabors' findings:
- As of June 23, the independent Office of Special Counsel, a government investigative arm, had more than 50 pending cases that allege threats to patient health or safety.
- One-fourth of all the whistleblower cases under review across the federal government come from the VA. The department "encourages discontent and backlash against employees."
- The VA's lack of resources reflects troubles in the health care field as a whole and in the federal government. But the VA has been unable to connect its budget needs to specific outcomes.
- The VA needs to better prepare for changes in the demographic profile of veterans, including more female veterans, a surge in mental health needs and a growing number of older veterans.
Obama asked Nabors to stay at the VA temporarily to continue to provide assistance.
