"Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins had vowed to have reduced the size of the agency by 30,000 positions by that date without impacting health services for veterans. "We are understaffed," Fallon said. "We don't have all of the services that we would have had on a regular basis.""
"Meanwhile, wait times have increased for patients, said Florence Uzuegbunam, a nurse practitioner who works in primary care at a VA hospital outside of Atlanta. She also said that the staffing shortage has increased since Sept. 30 and that an increase in patients has reduced the time available for outpatients from the recommended one-hour visit to 30 minutes. "You can't do much in 30 minutes." She added that in many areas of the hospital - including the women's wellness clinic - there is reduced staffing."
Multiple VA facilities experienced contract terminations and staff departures at the end of the fiscal year, deepening existing shortages in emergency and primary care. Staff losses included nurses and other personnel, while patient volumes increased, producing longer waits and shorter outpatient visits, often reduced from one hour to 30 minutes. Clinics such as women's wellness report reduced coverage, and clinicians are performing multiple roles and logging unpaid hours to keep services running. The VA had committed to reducing headcount by 30,000 positions by the deadline, and the nurses involved are members of National Nurses United, whose contract with the VA was terminated in early August.
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