More than 1,600 patients have had to wait for initial medical appointments at the Denver veterans hospital 90 days or more after requesting them, the Veterans Affairs Department said Monday.
New patients waited an average of 44.64 days for an appointment at the Denver facility, compared with 3.47 days for an established patient.
Among sites flagged for further review and investigation are the Colorado Springs Community-based Outpatient Clinic, and a facility in Cheyenne.
“Where misconduct is confirmed, appropriate personnel actions will promptly be pursued,” the audit stated.
The VA also said 115 patients have had to wait at least 90 days for their first appointment at the Grand Junction veterans hospital.
The findings were based on an audit of 731 VA hospitals and large outpatient clinics nationwide. More than 57,000 patients have been caught in that 90-day category, the report said.
The findings did not list any wait-time statistics for the Colorado Springs clinic or say what specifically prompted the follow-up there or in Grand Junction.
A clinic in Fort Collins was inspected in May, but it was not listed for a follow-up review, even though investigators have said employees of that clinic were instructed to falsify appointment records.
However, the Fort Collins facility reports to the VA hospital in Cheyenne, and that hospital is in line for a review.
VA personnel also inspected clinics in Alamosa, Aurora, Durango, Golden, Greeley, La Junta, Lamar, Montrose and Pueblo, and none of them was listed for follow-up reviews.
