As many as 40 patients who passed away at a Phoenix VA hospital may have died as a result of delayed care.
One of the deceased patients from the Phoenix hospital was Thomas Breen, a cancer victim whose daughter-in-law, Sally Eliano, has been vocal about the delays. “All the people who were part of this, they should be held accountable because it is a crime. You know delayed care is denied care, and it’s just not fair,” she said.
On May 8, a House committee voted to subpoena records that the VA hospital had refused to hand over.
Over-booking appointments is an issue that has become prevalent in VA hospitals all over the country. For veterans who suffering from illnesses that commonly afflict them, like PTSD and mesothelioma, care should be provided within a reasonable timeframe because any delay in the care of these patients is detrimental to their health.
Numerous whistleblowers, including former VA employee Dr. Samuel Foote, have claimed administrators failed to report between 1,400 and 1,600 appointment requests in an attempt to improve the hospital’s treatment record.
“This was basically an elaborate scheme to cover up patient wait times. Rather than deal with it, they would just cover it up,” said Dr. Foote, who recently retired after 24 years with the VA. “The main problem was we had a huge demand, and we had a relatively limited supply of service.”
Although some members of Congress have called for Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation, Shinseki has dismissed them. “My responsibility is to ensure that the review is done quickly and thoroughly and then, something is done about it,” he said.
Shinseki also assured the public that his department was taking steps to prevent such misconduct from occurring elsewhere.