Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:THE US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is experiencing “severe” staff shortages at all its hospitals, with the number of shortages increasing by 50% this fiscal year, according to a new report from the agency’s independent watchdog.
The report, released on Tuesday, came a day after the Guardian revealed the department had lost thousands of healthcare professionals deemed “core” to the system under Donald Trump, without which, the agency said, “mission-critical work cannot be completed”. The inspector general found 94% of VA facilities faced a “severe” shortage of doctors, while 79% faced a severe shortage of nurses.
P s y c h o l o g y was “the most frequently reported clinical occupational staffing shortage”. A majority of VA facilities also reported severe shortages of police officers, who keep veteran patients and staff safe. The VA operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, serving 9 million veterans annually. The report is required under two laws, one signed by Trump in 2017.
In a statement, Congressman Mark Takano of California, the ranking Democrat on the House committee on veterans’ affairs, said the report “confirms our fears” that shortages of medical staff were leading to “decreased access and choice for veterans”.
The VA press secretary, Peter Kasperowicz, said the congressionally mandated watchdog report was “not a reliable indicator of staffing shortages” and that it was “completely subjective, not standardized and unreliable”.
The report is based on a survey of VA medical centers in April. Since then, the VA has continued to lose doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other frontline medical professionals.
