What does Government Run Healthcare look like? Look no further than the VA.
Report: VA Hospital Botched Cancer Treatments
Monday, June 22, 2009
PHILADELPHIA — Ninety-two veterans were given incorrect radiation doses in a common surgical procedure to treat prostate cancer during a six-year period at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, according to newspaper reports Sunday.
A hospital team that performed the procedure botched it on 92 of 116 occasions and continued the treatment for a year even though monitoring equipment was broken, The New York Times said. The Philadelphia Inquirer said treatment errors occurred in 92 of 114 cases.
The cases involved brachytherapy, in which implanted radioactive seeds are used to kill cancer cells. Most veterans got significantly less than the prescribed dose while others received excessive radiation to nearby tissue and organs.
A federal commission announced last fall that an inspection at the hospital was under way partly because of the number of patients given incorrect radiation doses. The medical center suspended its prostate cancer treatment program as a result of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators found that 57 implants delivered too little radiation to the prostate and 35 cases involved overdoses to other parts of the body, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report published in the Federal Register this month. An unspecified number of patients had both underdoses to the prostate and overdoses in other areas.
All of the affected veterans have received follow-up care, and eight got additional seed implants at a Seattle VA center, according to Dale Warman of the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Warman said the hospital leadership "takes the ... situation very seriously and has taken every step possible to correct or mitigate the problem."
Four of the men have since died, but Warman said none of the deaths was connected to prostate cancer or the treatment.
Several staff members, including oncologist Gary Kao, who was under contract to the VA and was involved in nearly all of the cases, are no longer employed at the hospital. Kao's lawyer, Jack L. Gruenstein, told the Times its account of the doctor's role was "false" but declined to elaborate.
A team from the commission, which oversees such radiation therapy, is scheduled to be in Philadelphia this week to investigate.
"As we have done throughout this process, Philadelphia VA Medical Center staff are prepared to share whatever records and information are necessary to discover what happened, why it happened, and to take steps to prevent it from happening again," Warman said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528024,00.html
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VA Hospital Inspections Raise Health Concerns
06/16/09 6:49 pm -reporter: David Tate producer: Amy Foster
A startling report released on Tuesday by the Veteran's Administration Inspector General outlines severe training deficiencies in many of our Veterans Affairs hospitals.
The deficiencies have led to the possible infection of thousands of veterans with diseases like HIV and Hepatitis via common procedures like colonoscopies. This comes after surprise inspections of 42 VA hospitals, which showed more than half did not meet standards.
The VA hospital in Salem was one of 42 facilities given surprise inspections last month, following the discovery of sterilization problems in a Tennessee facility. VA officials say the widespread deficiencies, after repeated warnings, suggest problems in the organizational structure.
Dr. Dennis B. Weiserbs with the Endoscopy Center of SW Virginia said, "The VA is an important part of our health care system so I think this is an interest to everyone."
Doctor Dennis Weiserbs understands the issue at hand well. He has worked in a VA hospital and now runs an office that is in the colonoscopy business. After every procedure, his instruments get a multi-layered cleaning that last nearly an hour.
"Our technicians have the most important job here and that's to follow a sequence of steps to disinfect the scopes," Weiserbs said.
A job that belongs to technician Vickie Sumner. "You don't want anyone to get an infection. You want to make sure the procedure is clean," Sumner said.
And that includes enzyme soaks, bit by bit scrubbing, ultrasonic cleaning with chemicals, flushing and then an alcohol treatment.
According to Weiserbs, the key to ensuring no patient is contaminated is through training and keeping the sterilization process consistent. Something the VA in general is being accused of not doing
We tried to contact the VA Hospital in Salem regarding any specific information on the inspection there. Our calls have not been returned.
http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0609/632542.html