A recent investigation by CBS News 11 showed that some of the patients at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Dallas were victims of neglect, malpractice, and incompetence. The report says that veterans endure a long wait just to get into the hospital initially and are then subjected to "an uncaring and unresponsive staff unwilling to provide even the most basic care."According the article, a Vietnam veteran waited eight years to get his VA card just to get in the hospital. He went to the hospital with back pain but was sent home and given morphine patches and Hydrocodone. The veteran was admitted to hospital after pain moved down to his hip and leg, but it still took a month to receive an x-ray, despite a myeloma survey that showed "aggressive bone deterioration" in his leg. The veteran's leg broke when he sat on a shower chair.
The article also shares the story of another Vietnam veteran who went to the Dallas VA hospital because of throat pain. Despite having doctors tell him they do not know what was wrong a student doctor told the veteran that he has terminal cancer. The veteran says that doctors knew that he had cancer that had spread for two and a half weeks before they told him. He also reports a staff that does not properly care for their patients; his sister has had to bathe him and change his linens.
Yet another veteran reported having to wait seven hours for pain medication and having the dressing on his wound changed only twice in eight days after his surgery. He says he complained about a swollen leg and being unable to move it, but the leg was not treated until later, after an examination showed that he had a blood clot.
The hospital chief of staff says that the hospital has undergone a 100 percent change in leadership that has improved things lately. However, based on the complaints of the veterans, there are still more changes needed.
Meanwhile, in the wake of reports of dreadful conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center, the VA has ordered its 1,400 hospitals and clinics to give a report outlining the quality of their facilities. The order was given last month and gave facilities only a couple of weeks to respond.
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The treatment that many veterans are subjected to, including malpractice, misdiagnoses, squalid hospital conditions, and apathetic hospital staff is unconscionable. If you or a family member has been a victim of malpractice at a Veterans Affairs medical center, contact a lawyer to discuss your options.
READER COMMENTS
Shirley Thomas Parker
on
sandra cates
on
I really think they are trying to kill all you off so they don't have to pay you or give you free health care if you are over the age of 65or younger.
Ramon Riveraalmena
on
I there I had experience a tightness and discomfort in the chest. On August 12 (0200 am) I drove to the VA hospital in Decatur, GA. When I got there complianing of tightness in chest they were more concern with how they were going to get paid. The administrated took me to his office and told me I could have gone to a regular hospital since I was not a retired veteran yet.
Once he asked asked me all the necessary information such as unit I beling to and supervisor he told me to go back to the clerk so that I could be seen by the doctor.
Once I had been processed at the front desk I was told to sit down in the emergency room and wait for a doctor to be seen.
A good 45 minutes had past before I had been told to have a sit in the emergency room.
I waited another 15 t0 20 minutes before I was seen by the doctor on shift. He ask me questions and I answered them to the best of my ability. They had only taken my blood pressure this whole time and nothing more.
He told me that my symptoms were that of heartburn and he told me to wait there while he had the nurse give me heartburn medicine. 5 minutes later the nurse gave me the medicine for heartburn.
In the mean time another patient had just come into the emergency room complaining of chest pain. He had told the nurse that he had taken a nitrostat bill.
Both the nurse and doctor had rush to the aid of the patient complaining of chest pain.
I had been left to myself and after 25 minutes I just decided to leave since he had told me that I had heartburn and I had just taken the medicine.
I drove for another hour before arriving at my neice home.
Long story short, I had been experience chest pain for the next to days when my neice decided to take me to local hospital in Carrolton county (Tanner Hospital).
I soon has I got there the level of service I received was not only immediate but exceptional. They took my vital and did a EKG on me.
They proceeded to rush me to the emergency room where they prep me for a catheter procedure that was to be done at the main Tanner Hospital in Carrolton county. They gave me all the medicines I needed to stabalize me and inserted all the IV's I would need.
The ambulance personnel drove me to the main hospital and the catheter procedure was performed by the doctor and his staff of nurses.
What the VA hospital did goes beyond negligence and I cannot imagine that this is the type of treatment that veterans are subjected too.
I was lucky, but there are other veterans that may not be as lucky. The VA had one nurse on shift and it appeared like she was making all the desicions on her shift while the so called doctors followed her lead.
They need to be investigated.