“I am appalled to learn that Florida’s brave veterans have been unnecessarily forced to wait for care they deserve to have provided timely,” Governor Rick Scott said. “The discovery of a secret waiting list further heightens my concerns about the federal VA hospital system and how it is failing Florida’s veterans.”
The governor said he tried to send state inspectors to the hospital last month, but to no avail.
“On April 14, the Agency for Health Care Administration’s inspectors attempted to visit the same VA hospital—they entered at 10:30 a.mm and left at 11:07 a.m., having not been able to review any documents,” Scott said. “Given this news, I am asking the Agency for Health Care Administration’s inspectors to attempt a revisit at the VA hospital in Gainesville. ”
The Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville serves as a major hub for North Florida veterans who need care local VA clinics, such as the one in Jacksonville, cannot provide.
Muriel Newman, union president for the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the VA administration has placed chief psychiatrist Dr. Rajiv Tandon, administrative officer Karen Chin and Peter Durand, the chief of the mental health service line, on administrative leave.
The North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System director, Thomas Wisnieski said the paper list was made up of patients who needed appointment callbacks, according to Ocala.com. That list is not proper protocol.
The case is a first for VA hospitals in Florida, but just the latest in a long line of alleged malpractice by VA hospitals nationwide over secret waiting lists. |
