Robert McDonald: Cleaning up the VA

I am in Utah and my Facility is the Regional Hosp on Foothill Dr in SLC, I have been told by many VA reps that this is one of the best facilities in the nation. I shudder at this aspect, I have had numerous clashes with this facility and always get the same response "BLOWN OFF". I sat in the ER waiting room for 4 hours having a heart attack, the records of this visit were removed from my records. I had a kidney infection that went on for 2 months while the VA lost 10...Ten... urine samples or contaminated them, or switched them for someone elses and refused to give me any antibiotics until I went to congress, now they are peeved at me for doing so. I was sent to see a doc about getting spine surgery and was told he wouldnt operate on me until I had my hips replaced and was referred to a hip doc who told me he wouldnt operate until I had spine surgery, I questioned the round robin and was screamed at to shut up that I had no say in the matter and if I opened my mouth one more time he would NEVER operate on me. I had fought the VA for years about not wanting to take Narcotics for my pain, I was told by one doc that I must not have ANY pain if I didnt want narcotics and what I feel ...hazed by others. When I finally did have my spine operated on ( civilian facility) I was prescribed Percocet and was told to go to the VA emergency room to have them filled (this was a Sunday). When I got there the attending DR said she didnt know me personally and refused to fill the prescription, then said That according to my records I already have some. I found out at that moment that Acetaminophen with hydrocodone is percocet and I had been lied to by the VA and told that this was a step below an actual narcotic. I was also told that I was being placed on a drug abuse course because I was abusing these narcotics because a 30 day supply was lasting me 5-6 months and I was there fore abusing a narcotic drug. I have lost all faith in this system and tolerate pain that feels like someone has shoved two knives into each side of my groin and are twisting them. I scream out at night in pain, fall all the time and cannot get back up, have issues getting out of a chair... If someone can do something to better the VA system let me know.

I hope it will, MAJ (Join to see). I think it's a major step in the right direction. Other threads on RallyPoint have touched on this issue, and I have maintained there that changing out the "top dog" in an organization won't necessarily change the culture.

However, one of Secretary McDonald's suggestions is to "clean things up" at lower levels by removing people who violated rules, regulations, policies, and the trust of the veterans they were there to serve. I think that's a big step in the right direction. It sends a message to the entire VA workforce.

It's a speech, When is the last time you heard a speech live up to the promise?