VA Releases Findings On Deaths, Injuries From Delayed Tests

Three veterans died and nine others were injured as the result of delays in treatment for gastrointestinal cancers in the VA’s Sunshine Healthcare Network serving Florida, southern Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to a much-anticipated VA report released Monday. The report also laid out corrective measures being taken to prevent similar problems in the future.

None of the deaths was the result of actions at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa or the C.W. “Bill” Young VA Medical Center in Bay Pines, according to the National Consult Delay Review Fact Sheet report delivered to Congress. But there were two “institutional disclosures” at the Bay Pines facility and one in Tampa, according to the report. That means that patients or their representatives were notified that the veterans were harmed during their care. The report does not provide any specifics about the level of harm, nor does it list any patient names.

Two of the deaths resulted from delays at the North Florida/South Georgia VA Health System and one was from the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, according to the VA. Another two patient deaths in the region were determined not be related to the delays, according to the VA.