- Richard Griffin, the VA's acting inspector general, appears before Congress on Wednesday
- Lawmakers and two whistleblowers from the Phoenix VA disagree with his findings
- His report could not conclude whether long wait times contributed to veterans' deaths
- CNN has been investigating and reporting on veterans' deaths and delays at VA facilities
Washington (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers and two whistleblowers harshly grilled and criticized the top watchdog of the Department of Veterans Affairs for a recent report that could not conclude whether long wait times at the Phoenix VA might have caused veterans' deaths.
Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin faced a barrage of questions at a hearing before the House Committee on Wednesday.
At issue was a VA report released in August that stated investigators could not "conclusively" link the deaths of 40 veterans to health care delays.
During a heated dispute, the committee's chairman, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, asked Griffin, "And you now have a statement that says you could not conclusively [determine] whether these deaths are related to delays in care?"
"If we can't conclude this, we should say so," Griffin responded.
Miller asked incredulously: "Can you conclusively say that no deaths occurred because of delays in care?"
"No. We don't know," Griffin said, explaining that although the inspector general's report found widespread delays in care at the Phoenix VA, there is no way to indisputably conclude delays caused deaths.
Whistleblowers have a different story
Two whistleblowers from the Phoenix VA disagreed with those findings, however. They testified before the committee that the inspector general downplayed evidence of harm to veterans and minimized the effects of medical administrators manipulating patient data and scheduling.
Whistleblower says investigation has been a 'whitewash'
Dr. Katherine Mitchell, medical director of the Phoenix VA's Post-Deployment Clinic, critiqued the inspector general's review of patient cases and said delays potentially caused two deaths and others significantly shortened the lifespan of some terminally ill veterans.
"Death is death, and there is no way to get those veterans back," Mitchell said.
Dr. Sam Foote, a retired Phoenix VA doctor, accused the inspector general of stalling the investigation and protecting the senior officials responsible for perpetuating and hiding health care delays.
Foote also alleged that the inspector general deliberately used confusing language and suppressed the finding that 293 veterans died waiting for care, a figure that was not included in the report.
"This report is at best a whitewash and at worst a feeble attempt at a cover up," Foote said.
"In my opinion, this was a conspiracy, possibly criminal, perpetrated by senior Phoenix leaders," Foote testified. "The inspector general tries to minimize the damage done and the culpability of those involved by stating that none of the deaths can conclusively be tied to treatment delays."
For more than a year, CNN has been investigating and reporting on veterans' deaths and delays at VA facilities all across the country, including detailed investigations in November and January 2013 examining deaths at two VA facilities in South Carolina and Georgia.
Foote first appeared on CNN in April, with detailed allegations that as many as 40 American veterans had died in Phoenix, waiting for care at the VA.
After Foote's revelations about Phoenix, numerous other whistleblowers stepped forward with similar charges of veterans waiting for care and possible deaths of veterans who were waiting.
Doctor: No records for many veterans
At Wednesday's hearing, Dr. John Daigh, an assistant inspector general who helped investigate the Phoenix VA, testified many veterans waiting for care did not have medical records since they had not been seen; therefore, their cases could not be reviewed.
"I can't report on cases I have no information on," Daigh said.
But Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, challenged these inconclusive statements and said the inspector general failed to adequately follow up on many patient deaths.
"To draw the conclusion, Dr. Daigh, that you did ... that it had no effect on the outcome of those patients, is outrageous," Roe said angrily. "If this were your family member, would you be happy with the explanation you just gave of his death? My suspicion is no."
From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, said "common sense tells you" that delays in care could certainly be linked to deaths of patients.
In a document dated October 2013 recently obtained by CNN, the Phoenix VA investigated and dismissed many allegations of scheduling problems in its facilities, including some of the most serious allegations of wrongdoing that were later proven to be true.
VA inspectors say Phoenix was in total 'chaos'
The Phoenix VA conducted a self-review of allegations that administrators incorrectly scheduled appointments and that senior officials discouraged the reporting of related problems, then it issued a report saying many of these issues could not be substantiated.
But when the VA's Office of Inspector General later investigated the exact same issues, it found that Phoenix VA staff members manipulated appointment data and that senior officials were aware of inappropriate practices.
The VA's inspector general recently found that 28 veterans had "clinically significant delays" in care, six of whom died, and that executives at Phoenix VA knew about the "unofficial wait lists" schedulers used to hide the delays.
Secret wait lists hidden in desk drawers
But at Wednesday's hearing, committee members learned from Griffin that there were far more veterans' deaths at Phoenix.
At least 293 veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix in recent years. Many of them were on secret wait lists that were hidden in desk drawers or other lists that obscured the real wait times at the hospital.
The Phoenix VA did confirm in its 2013 internal report that the wait times for mental health appointments were "extremely long," and that administrators discouraged patients from scheduling follow-up visits when they left the medical center.
The VA's 2013 report also found the process of hiring staff took too long, in some cases taking more than 60 days.
But the Phoenix VA reportedly rejected the majority of allegations, which were raised by Dr. Mitchell, the whistleblower who testified before Congress Wednesday.
On Mitchell's charge that Phoenix VA officials actively discouraged the reporting of scheduling problems, the VA report found, "There have been no findings ... that substantiate these allegations."
Many of Mitchell's allegations in 2013 centered on inappropriate use of the Phoenix VA's electronic wait list, a process for scheduling patients for next-available appointments.
She charged that Phoenix VA administrators were not correctly trained on how to use this wait list and that they failed to appropriately track appointments, allegations the inspector general later substantiated.
At Wednesday's hearing, congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle repeatedly criticized and chastised Griffin and his team of experts who examined what happened in Phoenix.
Many of the lawmakers expressed exasperation and frustration that they were not getting truthful or clear answers.
Most disturbing to congressional representatives was the firmly stated language that the inspector general could not conclusively prove that veterans' deaths were linked to delays in medical care the veterans' experienced, many before they died.
Foote andMitchell provided the committee detailed reports with allegations and information about what they see as a cover-up and conspiracy.
Committee members will be going through these documents in coming days.
Drew Griffin, Nelli Black, and Patricia DiCarlo contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment