Investigator Claims Veterans Affairs Has Been Downplaying Whistleblowers for Years

According to a lead federal investigator, Veterans Affairs has been ignoring and downplaying whistleblower warnings about problematic patient treatment for years.

In a letter to President Barack Obama on Monday, June 23rd, Carolyn Lerner of the US Office of Special Counsel cited numerous instances in which Veterans Affairs facilities was downplaying whistleblower’s who pointed out issues, including canceled appointments with no follow-up, contaminated drinking water that caused Legionnaires’ disease, and improper handling of surgical equipment and supplies. One veteran alleged he was admitted to a mental health facility but did not receive comprehensive care for eight years.

She added that Veterans Affairs acknowledged problems with wait times but insisted that the quality of patient care was unaffected.

“This approach has prevented the VA from acknowledging the severity of systemic problems and from taking the necessary steps to provide quality care to veterans,” Lerner wrote to Obama. “As a result, veterans’ health and safety has been unnecessarily put at risk.”

Lerner said her office is reviewing more than 50 complaints about problematic patient care at Veterans Affairs facilities. She found two cases to highlight her concerns about the administration: the VA’s Office of Medical Inspector in Fort Collins, Colorado found multiple violations of appointment scheduling times and cancelations that masked the long wait times, where 3,000 veterans were unable to reschedule their appointments; the second, in Brockton, Massachusetts, a VA psychiatrist disclosed concerns regarding patient neglect in the long-term facility, with one patient in particular staying at the Veterans Affairs facility from 2005 to 2013, but received only one note on his chart regarding his mental health status. A second patient at the facility reportedly arrived in 2003, but did not receive a comprehensive psychiatric exam until 2011.

“Such statements are a serious disservice to the veterans who received inadequate patient care for years after being admitted to VA facilities,” Lerner wrote. “Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases.”

Lerner pointed out other instances of failures in the Veterans Affairs facilities, including contaminated drinking water at a facility in Grand Junction, CO because standard maintenance and cleaning procedures were not followed; a pulmonologist in Montgomery, AL passing off past tests as current results; and staff in Buffalo, NY failing to wear proper protective gear and mishandling surgical equipment.

Obama appointed Sloan Gibson as acting secretary for Veterans Affairs after Eric Shinseki resigned several weeks ago, and Gibson immediately launched a department-wide review, to be completed in 14 days. “I am deeply disappointed not only in the substantiation of allegations raised by whistleblowers, but also in the failures within VA to take whistleblower complaints seriously,” he said in a statement.

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