One of the original whistleblowers in the Phoenix VA waiting-list scandal said veterans lives are still being put in danger there because of inadequately trained emergency room nurses.
Dr. Katherine Mitchell said the Office of Special Counsel has corroborated her claims that many of the facility’s emergency room nurses do not have adequate triage training.
“The VA investigative team stated that, based on the more than 110 cases I gave them, the ER nursing triage was ‘a danger to patient health and safety,’” she said.
Mitchell said it’s the luck of the draw when a veteran goes to the ER.
She said symptoms may or may not be recognized as needing immediate treatment, depending on the nurses on duty that day.