By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A probe of the care provided to a suicidal veteran at the Nashville Veterans Administration hospital found problems at the facility but could not substantiate the charge that he was turned away.
The report by the VA's Inspector General found that there were no records to show that the unnamed veteran actually went to the emergency department at the facility on the day in question even though they found the veteran to be "very credible."
According to the complaint the veteran told a staffer at the hospital that he was despondent over the death of a fellow veteran and was thinking of shooting himself, but he was nonetheless turned away and told to seek care at a community hospital.
He was later admitted to a community facility and remained there for five days, according to the report. The incident occurred in mid-2014.
Even though he was, in fact, ineligible for care, the inspector general noted that VA policy requires that care be provided in such situations.
Citing "an absence of staff recollection" and lack of records, the IG said he could not "independently evaluate whether or not the facility denied treatment to this veteran. Therefore we cannot substantiate this allegation."
The IG did however, cite the facility for six deficiencies including failure to train staff on suicide prevention, lack of signage and inadequate recording keeping.
wfrochejr999@gmail.com
