What has your experience with VA medical treatment been since this scandal broke?

[Unclebuck257]

Here we are, months into this VA Medical Treatment scandal and I was just wondering what other vets were experiencing regarding their medical treatment at the VA Medical facilities. I can honestly say that since the first of the year (Jan 2014), my medical treatment and care has taken a nosedive with regard to timeliness and quality. It's unbelievable to me since anyone would think that it would be just the opposite due to all the inquiries and investigations that are going on right now within the VA medical system.

 

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[el padron]

In San Diego we have valet parking, I'm not joking....

 

[CaptEsteban]

I have always gotten very good service in North Florida !!

 

[1shotwade]

Honestly I can't see a change! My wife is also a veteran. She had to have her gall bladder removed and waited 6 weeks for it to happen. Meanwhile the neighbor had the same and was back home in 3 days from diagnosis to surgery at a civilian facility.Since that time my wife received a new card good for x years. I have not so called and was told I would get one also but still have not. While on the phone was told there would be no more "means" tests,then received a letter to that effect.6 day later we both received letters to justify our income or risk loosing medical benefits.
Like I said,it hasn't changed!I first signed up for VA Healthcare and was turned down so got on the wifes ins.A year and a half later I get a call chewing me out for not using VA healthcare in all that time.I told the lady to make me an appointment then,I didn't know I could go to the VA. She just hung up the phone.One year after that I was excepted in VA healthcare. On April the 8th I got a phone call chewing me out for not going to my appointment that I didn't know i had.The appointment was for April 16th.Same thing,I told the idiot it was only the 8th and she hung up on me.3 days later I get the notice for my appointment!
Like I said,nothing has changed that I can tell!


Wade

 

[Unclebuck257]

Wade,

I've been in the VA Healthcare system since 2010, and up until Jan 2014, my care was excellent. In fact, as far as I could tell, it was better than civilian care. I've since learned that my great care was primarily due to my primary care facility and the people there following up on requested appointments with specialists and/or cat scans etc., once they were put into the computer. Since Jan 6 2014, my primary care facility has changed management and it has been anything but quality or good care. It took me 5 months just to get an appointment for see a Dermatologist for a skin cancer and I have now finally been scheduled in for surgery the end of August 2014. That'll be a total of 8 months from when I started on that issue. Back in March, April and May of this year I had a kidney stone issue that took until May just to get a cat scan ( from March) and then it was mis-read and I was told that I had no stones. After having to go to a civilian hospital emergency room for pain, another cat scan was taken 4 days after the VA cat scan and there were three stones causing me severe pain and a kidney infection. I had to have surgery by a civilian doctor three days later to remove the three stones. I then called the VA and spent 5 hours on the phone, going from person to person, demanding that my VA cat scan be re-read. When it was re-read, the radiologist then admitted that the first reading of my VA cat scan was in error and that three stones were plainly shown in the VA cat scan too!

Hard to have faith in a system that appears to be going downhill for me! Thankfully my upcoming surgery for skin cancer will be done in a well known civilian hospital that contracts to the VA for that type of surgery.

 

[1shotwade]

8 months to deal with a "CANCER"! I don't think you realize what good care you got before this.It seems to be hit or miss with the VA. I went through 2 quacks for primary care and tried to leave the Cinn., Ohio area and go to Louisville the boom! Magic! I get a decent primary care doctor.
I could ***** about it all day but it wouldn't help any if you were even *****ing to the right people.The few that actually care are over whelmed by having to do all the thinking and working for the 90% that don't care .I think the VA has great potential but it's lacking command responsibility.And if you get the chance to see these employees while they don't know you're looking you realize in short order just how bad moral is.One of the biggest things is that even though they work for the VA They have to go outside the system and purchase health care (from what I've heard them say)Wish we had an answer,I mean really 8 month when we're talking cancer!!! That's just nuts!

Wade

 

[Pointman]

I discharged medically in 2012 due to an injury that I had for over ten years. I was still able to receive my regular retirement because I had 20 years. I requested a primary care doctor in November 2011 because I had been feeling worse and worse. I filled out paperwork online and then eventually called a few months later. I then was called by the VA about a year later for some unrelated reason. The man on the other end told me that there isn't a form to fill out for injuries and supposedly processed me over the phone. Going on about 2 years I went back to the VA for something unrelated. While I was there the doctor I was speaking to, scheduled me for an initial appointment online. Finally, February last year I was seen for an initial evaluation, then I hadn't heard from them again, but I was supposed to have a doctor assigned and a main appointment in June 2013.

So almost 2 years had gone by. This past March I did a follow-up with the same doctor that scheduled me online. She said that my doctor had left the VA and that all his patients kind of "fell in a black hole". She put me back in for an INITIAL appointment for my injury AGAIN. The day before my appointment (May of this year) I received a phone message from the clinic stating that they show that I have been seen already and they were not sure why she had put me back in. They then cancelled my appointment. During this 3 year span, I had been discharged, lost my federal job as a result and have spent almost $1000 out of my own pocket for physical therapy from my civilian doctor and bi-monthly appointments for a year and a half. I was discharged finally from the civilian doctor and given exercises to do at home. I was diagnosed as having 2 pinched nerves in my back and neck and my arches have collapsed because I had been favoring my "good" side for too many years instead of having reconstructive surgery on my injured tendons/bones. For almost 5 years, I performed my job in the military under a lot of pain and the last two years, I could hardly stand in formation by the end of training. My back killed me and I wasn't sure what was going on. I related it to stress on the job and kept driving on.

I re-injured myself 3 times in two weeks ago and then checked myself into the VA emergency room, hoping to finally get a doctor assigned. The emergency room doctor could not believe what I had been through and only stated that it has "been a mess" across the board when it comes to scheduling. Supposedly he put me in for an orthopedic doctor which should bypass all the problems I'm having getting scheduled. In November it will be a solid 3 years since I have been actively working to get my injuries resolved. Going on 3 weeks and haven't heard anything. I plan to wait a little while longer and I guess hire a lawyer at this point. I could go to a civilian doctor, but I won't receive disability as a result I am told. My life has gone to crap because of this injury. I can't hardly even stand some Sundays during church sitting on the pews and getting up and down to sing. I can't run and can barely walk fast to stay active. I metal detect, but only slowly and then I am down for 2 days.

In 1999, I woke up with the classic symptoms of a stroke. I drove into work and then told my boss I was having a problem. Without insurance, he took me to the VA. I spent 3 hours in the emergency room and fell asleep waiting. I was feeling better and they discharged me stating that I was too young to have a stroke. 3 months later, I get a call stating that I did have a stroke. Thankfully, I wasn't permanently disabled. I went to appointments for over a year and they thought it was perhaps heart related issues (I had problems when I was born), but they lost my EKG and then I just kind of fell through the cracks. I followed back up with them when I acknowledged that I had a stroke when I took a routine physical in the military, but the VA was unable to ever find my records on ever having a stroke or heart issues. When I followed back up with the military doctors, of course they swept it under the rug just like the VA had. To this day, I am unsure what caused it, but it still shows up as a small lesion on my brain when I take MRIs.

 

[heartslayer2001]

Well i live in minnesota and have used VA care as my main. Though its slow at times i have received great care. I recently july 5th had a massive heart attack in my home, it was a saturday and was taken by ambulance to st.cloud mn hospital where i received 3 stents in my heart and good care. I left the hospital after 4 days, with broken ribs from the cpr. I made appointments to my VA clinic and have been seeing them since then. Very fast and helpful. I know that since i changed to a VA clinic and not the VA hospital in st.cloud i have received faster care. although i use both now for cardioligist and mri's, xrays. plus helping me with cardiac rehab at the local hospital. very apprecative of the VA and they can only get better. i know the bonuses in the big city VA's play a role, so try for care in a smaller city.

 

[shepcal]

I've been in the system since 95 at the Fresno VA? Have had no complains there, abit slow, but taken care of business. One thing noticed, all there, treat it like a job. What I mean here is, I was forwarded up to Palo Alto for surgery. Made 2 pre-surgery trips and 3 post. That place gets 5 stars from me! You're lost, employees will go out of their way to direct you or take you. You say hi or good morning and you get a big smile and regards back. Excellent service! Trip before last, on the elevator going up, gentleman in suit, maybe my age or abit younger, out of the blue asked how my day was going; told him how comfortable I was there. He said, Thanks we appreciate that input. Don't know who he was, but it did make me feel good, some one cared.

Shep

 

[Unclebuck257]

I've posted in this forum before about this and had anyone asked me prior to Jan of this year, I would have said the VA system was absolutely great and that the VA saved my life back in 2010-2011 by correctly diagnosing my stage 4 melonoma cancer on my forehead, when the civilian doctors said it was nothing to worry about for 12 years and to just put some prescription savue on it. It was because the civilian doctors screwed it up for so long that it went to stage 4 and became so dangerous. That was the first day ( 8 hours of surgery) and on the second day of that total surgery, it took 4 VA plastic surgeons, 5 hours, to close my forehead up from a hole bigger than a silver dollar and down to the bone! Additionally, while I was in surgery that second day, the entire staff at the Dallas VA Hospital treated my wife like a queen and couldn't do enough for her, for which I was greatly appreciative!

Once I can get passed my primary care clinic and into the VA Hospital system itself, with the various specialists there, everything then goes very well. It's this new team ( company in charge of) in my primary care clinic that messes things up by not following up on anything they put in that damn computer. I'll admit though that those mis-read cat scans regarding my kidney stones at the other VA Medical Center, we're sent to in this area for things like cat scans, was a major screw up, aside from my primary care clinic, but the new primary care clinic docs had their hands in screwing that up too by not following up and my having to wait 60-90 days for cat scans. Afterall, when you're urinating pure blood a number of times/days, that should alert someone that something serious is going on!

I may have to switch my primary care treatment to another primary care clinic about 40 miles away in order to get quality, professional treatment/care since I understand that clinic has quality care. I'll wait to do anything until after my August 28 scheduled skin cancer surgery before I make any changes though. It took me too long to get this surgery scheduled and I want nothing to screw it up.

 

[BDinutah]

I've got mixed emotions about the VA medical care system, I feel it could be a good medical system & in the SLC, UT, VA hospital there are some good people working there. They are so overwhelmed with the number of vets coming in & they're working for peanuts, so most of the good people are leaving for better pay, that's the governments fault. My brother-in-law & I were in Vietnam (68-69) at the same time & were both exposed to agent orange. We each had to spend thousands of dollars for civilian doctors to diagnose the cancers, but after we presented the VA (with the help of the DAV) the proof, they have helped us totally, in that aspect I guess we're lucky.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I've had great care from the Salem VA in Virginia. Had a hemi-colonectomy on March 14th, I did have to push it on my own. My initial diagnosis was from a VA contractor, and was seemingly lost in the mill for 3 months. So I e-mailed my primary care doctor, and bing bang boom off I went.

And I will say that now that the scandal has broken, I can't get through on the phone. They must be flat overwhelmed right now.

 

[Bullet:Mich.]

I have never had a problem with VA Care Michigan Center, Michigan including getting my meds on time.

 

[Pointman]

Since my last long message sent in July, I went to the VA around October, because again, I called and my appointment was cancelled. I refused to leave until I got an appointment. Finally I found a "Patient Advocate" and was scheduled on the spot. It took me almost two hours though. I had my appointment in October and they had me take a urinalysis before hand to make sure I wasn't on substances. (I never understood this being in the military for 20 years and being tested in the military constantly, but still having to take a urinalysis at the VA to be seen for injuries sustained on duty). After my initial physical in October which included a finger probe, the doctor finally got around to looking at my injuries and was wondering why I had been scheduled a year before but no follow up appointments had been made. Anyway, I finally got an MRI in December. I had to call to get those results and then the doctor scheduled me a specialist to look at my injuries. I waited until mid January with no word, so I called the VA and my appointment had been CANCELLED again. I called two weeks later and they told me I was scheduled for February 28th. Two days later I got a letter postmarked the day I called, so I feel it was on the verge of being cancelled and I called and caught it.

Actively, since 2011 I have finally had my appointments and got through to a specialist. I had probably 10 appointments rescheduled and cancelled during this time. Seen and then not given a followup. Went down to the VA at least 6 times to the emergency room to be seen for my injuries I received in 2004 and hopefully they have me at with a specialist that can do something about this. Needless to say, I have arthritis, tendinitis and having been medically discharged from the Army and lost my federal job because of this injury.

The other fight I have been waging is simply getting my VA benefits moved from being single to having dependents. I have been receiving VA disability payments since 2006 and I didn't know until recently I was being paid single. I went to the VA and filled out forms and provided documents showing my dependent information which they made copies of and date stamped. This was 4 months ago. I have since called and did the paperwork again over the phone and uploaded my children's birth certificates, but just recently got a letter denying me additional benefits. I am going back up to the VA to bring the copies of the date stamped materials and ask them why in the heck they can't simply do their jobs.

 

[johnnycat]

This March 6th I will be having shoulder surgery. Oh...I started the process March of LAST year.

 

[wvmountaindigger]

I have received wonderful care from the VA before and after the scandal in West Virginia!! Second to none and wouldn't go anywhere else!

 

[Rawhide]

The va has denied me care for 25 years. I was medically discharged and receive zip. As a combat veteran I now have to face security checks, concrete barriers, and being escorted at doctor appoints. If the va isn't safe, no one is safe. The whole system needs scrapped.

 

[Jazdo]

I have been seen regularly at the Des Moines VA Medical facility since 2011 and am glad I can go there with no cost to me out of my pocket. The staff is polite and considerate to me and seems a bit faster now than two years ago at least with scheduling.