Webb said that since 2007 his office has received 149 complaints about the facility, ranging from abusive patient treatment to wrongful death. A 2008 assessment by the VA's inspector general found that the center failed to comply with a number of policies and guidelines, he said, and its scores on a patient-perception survey did not meet targets.
I needed to get MRIs done on both of my knees. I called to make an appointment and was told that I needed to see my primary care person before getting a consult for the MRIs. So I ask to make an appointment and four months away is the soonest I can get in. A few weeks later I get a letter in the mail telling me to report to the Lab two to ten days prior to my appointment for bloodwork.
A week prior to my appointment I drive up to Hampton and and go to the lab. I take a number and stand in line and wait for the lady to call my number (Think DMV). Once my number is called I exchange pleasantries with the lady and she looks me up in the computer. After a few minutes of clicking she starts to mumble to herself about people not having orders. I ask if that she is referring to me and she says, "there is no order for lab work so I can't help you". I show her the letter telling me to come to the lab and she shrugs and tells me to go to primary.
Now that I am left standing there I look around and head over to the sign that says "Primary Two" and stand in line again. After a while the lady calls out, "Next Veteran" and it is my turn to approach the counter. I show her the letter and explain that the lab did not have an order. She tells me that, " she cannot do anything until I see the Care Provider. So I guess that the letter telling me to report to the lab is meaningless.
A week later on the day of my appointment I am an hour early and I go to check in at the front counter and stand in line. It appears that only a few people are working at the check in counter and there are a number of empty spots but I am not sure and it is not lunch time. After about 20 minutes it is my turn and the gentleman looks me up in the computer. He is rather polite and nice but he appears a bit harried. He prints out two lines on a piece of paper, hands it to me and points to Primary Care. I walk over to primary care and stand in line. Once it is my turn I hand over my letter and paperwork and tell the lady I am here for my appointment. She looks me up in the computer and gestures over to the waiting seats and tells me someone will call my name.
So I sit with all of the coughing and sneezing people and wait for about 45 minutes. It is about 30 minutes past my appointment time now and I finally get called back. The Nurse takes my vitals and asks a bunch of questions,typing my answers into the computer. She is rather nice and explains that they are short of help. While in the room another nurse comes in and asks to borrow one of the machines because there are not enough for all of the rooms. The nurse now directs me to another waiting room, called the Green Room. There are no empty seats so I stand in the corner and try not to breathe in from the guy coughing on the other side.
After about another 20 minutes a different person call my name. This lady is a physicians assistant. She will be the one that takes care of me. She asks a bunch of questions and types the answer into the computer. Offers me a consult for cane, a Hepatitis C test, a Flu Shot, some other tests and what have you. What I really came here for is the MRIs for my knees. Oh well we have to schedule another appointment for that and the wait is about NINE MONTHS!!
So at best it will be 13 months from the time I called to even get to the MRI machine. We cannot afford Government Run Healthcare. Anyone stupid enough to think that we should have Government Run Healthcare should be required to get their health care from the VA and see how it really works.
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