WASHINGTON (AP) – Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald says the VA’s hospitals and clinics are beefing up staff and seeing more patients. Yet the number of appointments not completed within 30 days continues to grow.
Speaking at the National Press Club in advance of Veterans Day, McDonald describes a VA that is doing much to address problems that investigators say caused chronic delays for veterans seeking care. McDonald says the VA completed 3.1 million more appointments in the latest fiscal year than the previous one. It also hired thousands of new doctors and nurses.
Still, the organization is struggling to keep up. McDonald says the number of appointments not completed in 30 days has grown from 300,000 to nearly 500,000.