Acting VA secretary Sloan Gibson said in an announcement in Phoenix that the department is acting on recommendations made by the inspector general in an interim report on scheduling procedures, including by removing an unrealistic 14-day scheduling goal from employee performance ratings in part to eliminate the incentive to game scheduling records.
The department has reached out to all veterans identified in the interim IG report to discuss individual medical needs and immediately begin scheduling appointments (reportedly about 750 of 1,700 veterans have requested appointments within 30 days).
Gibson said the department is working to provide immediate care in the community, including through non-VA providers for primary care. An HR team has been deployed in Phoenix to hire additional staff, and three of the VA’s mobile medical units are being used on-site as well.
“We now know there is a leadership and integrity problem among some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities, which can and must be fixed,” said Gibson.
He also said the department is releasing results from its nationwide audit, as well as patient access data, for all medical centers, which will give an indication of the extent of systemic problems uncovered.
Senior leaders in the Phoenix HCS are being removed, and the department has suspended all VHA senior executive performance awards for fiscal 2014 so far.
