VA audit: Escondido clinic flagged

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/09/VA-audit-sandiego-escondidio-imperialvalley/

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Audit of VA health care shows new San Diego patients wait 43 days for 1st appointments

VA audit: Escondido clinic flagged
By Jeanette Steele
12:19 p.m.June 9, 2014

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs national audit released Monday calls out clinics in Escondido and Imperial Valley as two of the trouble spots in the scandal over faked wait times at VA medical centers.

As for the overall San Diego VA network -- which veterans leaders have repeatedly praised during the scandal -- the audit reveals a vast difference in speed of service for new versus existing patients.

Established patients are getting appointments, even for specialist visits, in three to five days from the request.

But new patients are waiting nearly a month and a half — almost 44 days on average — for an initial appointment with a primary care doctor or specialist.