According to the White House ordered audit of 731 VA hospitals and large outpatient clinics the agency's
complicated appointment process created confusion among scheduling
clerks and supervisors.
Even more frightening is that more than 57,000 patients are still waiting for initial medical appointments at VA hospitals and clinics 90 days or more after requesting them. Also 64,000 vets who enrolled in the VA health care system over the past 10 years have never had appointments.
Lying is big in the VA system, the audit reports that 13 percent of VA schedulers reported supervisors telling them to falsify appointment dates to make waiting times appear shorter.
The audit says a 14-day goal for seeing first-time patients was unattainable given the growing demand among veterans for health care and poor planning. The VA has since abandoned that goal.
A number of deaths have been blamed on the long waits.
A number of deaths have been blamed on the long waits.