The OIG identified instances when staff were in positions to provide direct patient care despite not being fully vetted. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe VA has made some improvements in its process for determining whether job applicants are suitable for employment but the department still is not ensuring that required background investigations were completed for staff at medical facilities nationwide before they began work, an inspector general report.
The report, a follow-up to prior reports raising the same concerns, said that steps taken in response to those reports “were not sustained or did not adequately mitigate weaknesses” previously pointed out. The department’s “systems and data do not adequately support the personnel suitability program” and Veterans Health Administration personnel suitability staff “did not always initiate or adjudicate background investigations in a timely manner and did not maintain personnel records as required,” it said.
“The OIG identified instances when staff were in positions to provide direct patient care despite not being fully vetted, which underscores the importance of the background investigation process. Completing background investigation actions on time ensures that VHA obtains information necessary to determine whether individuals are suitable for holding positions that often involve providing medical care for veterans,” the report said.
“These deficiencies occurred in part because neither VA nor VHA provided effective oversight by executing internal controls over the program, including not conducting program inspections and reviews, respectively,” it said.
It said the VA agreed with recommendations to “establish more robust oversight of the personnel suitability program, which will confirm the roles and responsibilities of VA organizational components, update oversight processes, reimplement the required monitoring program, assess program resources, and begin allocating required staff to prioritize oversight.”
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