VA watchdog: Wait-time manipulation prevalent

Dozens of officials at Veterans Affairs medical centers nationwide have tried to hide scheduling problems from federal investigators, the department’s inspector general said Tuesday.

{mosads}Richard Griffin, the department’s top watchdog, said the VA has “redoubled its efforts” to improve care, with nearly 100 ongoing investigations at facilities across the country.

“While most are still ongoing, these investigations are confirming that wait-time manipulations are prevalent throughout VHA [Veterans Health Administration],” Griffin said.

In his first public appearance since unveiling plans to overhaul the agency, VA Secretary Bob McDonald told a Senate panel that he would focus on top leaders that have long escaped accountability.

McDonald vowed to “flatten hierarchy” to strengthen oversight at the department’s 1,000 medical centers. But the reforms have hit bureaucratic hurdles, including the department’s lengthy disciplinary process.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he was concerned that three high-ranking employees accused of mismanagement in Phoenix have not yet been fired by the VA.

“We need to be able to terminate people when they ought to be terminated,” Tester said.

McDonald, just five weeks into his leadership of the embattled agency, said all proposed disciplinary actions must be reviewed by a separate board before action is taken.

He pledged that the department would proceed with disciplinary action “as soon as we’re capable.”

McDonald again apologized to veterans but reiterated that the federal government had found no conclusive proof that delays at the Phoenix VA Health Care System directly led to patients’ deaths.

Offering proof of his pledge for transparency, McDonald asked senators to call him by his first name.

“That’s not trite. That’s done because we need to flatten the hierarchy,” he said.