Whistle-blowers allege ‘serious wrongdoing’ at Mississippi VA

Whistle-blowers allege ‘serious wrongdoing’ at VA center in Mississippi
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Employees at a Veterans Administration hospital in Mississippi have reported a range of “serious wrongdoing,” including improperly sterilized instruments and missed diagnoses of fatal illnesses, an independent federal investigative agency said in a letter to the White House.

The agency said the allegations raise doubt about the facility’s ability to care for veterans.

In the letter sent Monday to the White House and Congress, the Office of Special Counsel said an initial 2009 report by a whistle-blower employee at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., alleged that the staff routinely failed to properly clean and sterilize reusable medical equipment such as scalpels and bone cutters.

In all, five whistle-blowers representing what the Office of Special Counsel called “a diverse group” of employees at the Jackson hospital made a variety of allegations over several years that imply improper care of patients. One doctor at the facility alleged in January 2013 that thousands of radiology images were unread or improperly read, resulting in missed diagnoses of “serious and, in some cases, fatal illnesses,” the special counsel said.
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