Arlington, Va. – The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on Tuesday reviewing allegations of patient deaths, wait times and scheduling practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, finding “unacceptable and troubling lapses in follow-up, coordination, quality, and continuity of care.”
The OIG analysis found that the health care system’s executive and senior clinical staff were aware of their employees’ noncompliant scheduling practices, but failed to take action to fix the problem. The report states that instead of working to improve performance, the management lowered expectations for their subordinates.
In reaction, Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, issued the following statement:
“Concerned Veterans for America is disappointed, but not surprised, to see the Office of the Inspector General’s report confirm what we already knew about the systemic problems and manipulation of records in the Phoenix VA Health System. Following this scathing report, we hope that VA leadership, including former Phoenix VA Health Care System Director Sharon Helman, will finally be held accountable and fired for the gross mismanagement and falsification of records that the IG’s report confirmed occurred on her watch.
“It is now solely up to President Obama and Secretary McDonald to use the firing authorities recently granted in the VA reform law to make sure that those responsible are held to account and that the VA’s systemic culture of corruption comes to an end. Without that sense of accountability, veterans will continue to be denied the care they have earned. Concerned Veterans for America will continue to monitor the situation long after it has faded from the headlines to make sure that the administration follows through on its promise to our nation’s heroes.”
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Concerned Veterans for America is a non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for policies that will preserve the freedom and liberty we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.