Veterans rely on V.A. hospitals for adequate treatment. But their needs are rarely met. Recent reports show that more and more veterans are actually dying due to lack of proper treatment at V.A. hospitals.
CNN reports on the underlying inadequacy found at V.A. hospitals.
Veterans are supposed to be revered in American society but they cannot even secure treatment at V.A. hospitals. CNN delved into this issue and revealed startling information about the practices at V.A. hospitals.
“At least 19 veterans have died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies, at various VA hospitals or clinics. U.S. veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at VA hospitals. That's according to an internal document from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” according to CNN.
Many V.A. hospitals delay treatment and fail to follow up with patients according to this report.
CNN sheds light on one particular veteran who waited almost a year for a colonoscopy, “The problem was getting worse and I was having more pain, Coates said, talking about one specific VA doctor. She again examined me and gave me some prescriptions for other things as far as pain and stuff like that and I noticed again she made another comment -- 'may need colonoscopy.' I told her that something needed to be done. But nothing was ever set up. I had already been in pain and suffering from this problem for over six months and it wasn't getting better. I told her that if you were in as much pain as I was and had been going through you wouldn't wait another two months to see what's going on. You would do it this week.” He waited several months and even begged for an appointment to no avail. But he was stuck on a never-ending list of veterans who were all in dire need of procedures. Many people are calling for the reform of V.A. hospitals.