Sinema calls for action following VA report findings
May 28, 2014, 4:43 PM | Updated: 5:14 pm
PHOENIX — Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema says she is shocked at what she learned from the interim report on the Phoenix VA Health Care System.
Sinema encouraged health care providers in the Valley to offer services to VA to make sure all veterans at risk have timely access to quality care.
“The Phoenix VA managers responsible for this unconscionable behavior should be fired. Most importantly, the VA must take swift action to provide immediate access to appropriate care for the 3,100 Arizona veterans awaiting care,” she said in a release.
Sinema said the average wait time for a first primary care appointment was unacceptable and putting veterans at risk.
“When I saw these numbers of veterans who had been deliberately left out of the scheduling system and the unconscionably long delays in getting first appointments, I was horrified,” she said.
She is also calling for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation.
The VA report also discovered several accusations of harassment and abuse by managers.
KTAR’s Martha Maurer Contributed to this report.