Tom Cohen, WASHINGTON (CNN) — An audit of more than 700 Veterans Affairs facilities released Monday found that tens of thousands of veterans were waiting to be scheduled for care across the country, and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it was scrapping performance bonuses for all senior management in 2014 as part of its response to the review.
The internal VA audit provides a more complete picture of widespread problems at the agency’s health care facilities, as reported by CNN over the past seven months, than its preliminary findings last month that led to the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
According to the audit findings on Monday, a 14-day deadline for providing care to newly enrolled veterans such as those coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan proved “simply not attainable” due to growing demand and a lack of capacity.
“Imposing this expectation on the field before ascertaining the resources required and its ensuing broad promulgation represent an organizational leadership failure,” the audit said of the deadline imposed under Shinseki.