Phoenix VA delays "not enough evidence to prove it" caused deaths

IG: Phoenix deaths, delays link expected but not found
Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: September 9, 2014

WASHINGTON — A top auditor in the Department of Veterans Affairs told Senate lawmakers Tuesday that he had expected to find delays in care at a Phoenix hospital had caused patient deaths.

But in the end there just was not enough evidence to prove it, and auditors can only “report the news that we find,” John Daigh, assistant inspector general for VA health care inspections, testified before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

The Inspector General, an independent agency watchdog, released a comprehensive audit last month on the VA Phoenix hospital system that found 20 patient deaths linked to poor care or delays in treatment but it stopped short of saying the department was responsible. The audit finding has been underscored by new VA Secretary Bob McDonald, who mentioned it in his own opening remarks to the committee.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., asked Daigh whether a reasonable person could conclude that the VA patients died due to the poor care or delays reported in the IG audit.
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