Page 7 - Phoenix Va News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Something called an open consult report. that is going to include instances where care has already been delivered, but there may be some administrative issue that hasn't been corrected yet that allow the consult be removed. >> does it necessarily mean that 8,000 patients are not waiting 90 days? >> i would say patently there are 8,000 patients not waiting longer than 90 days. are there patients waiting longer? yes. >> reporter: how could you make a statement so strongly they are not? >> i'm saying some of them are not. >> reporter: some of them are not? do you know how many are not? >> no, i d...

It. >> the electronic wait list is almost 500,000 today. >> reporter: how it kbe it? >> in the location after location when we improve access to care, whether adding space or productivity or care in the community, more veterans come to v.a. for more care. >> reporter: you're saying you're victim of your own success? >> i would say the challenge that we have is a structural challenge. >> reporter: so when our sources, who are telling us, you know, the reality is the veterans are waiting months, you would say? >> i would say we work every single day trying to find ways to make it better. i know,...

Times inside a lot of the v.a. health facilities across the country are growing longer. for the first time, a senior v.a. official is speaking about what is really going on. cnn's senior investigative correspondent drew griffin has the story for us. >> reporter: after the billions in emergency funding and all of the attention the v.a. has gotten, it's hard to imagine but according to our sources and now confirmed by the v.a. in many areas, the situation is not improving or even worse. wait times are not getting better. listen to what this whistle-blower says is happening right now at the phoen...

Shinseki, the secretary of the v.a., and even after that, wait times in the v.a. facilities are growing longer and not shorter. right now, half a million veterans are on electronic wait lists waiting for more cases of more than 90 days to see a doctor. tonight, we sit down to find out what is going on and why the v.a. is not getting better. tonight, our correspondent drew griffin is keeping them honest. >> reporter: wait times are not getting better. listen to what this whistle ploeer say ploe -- whistle-blower is saying about the phoenix v.a., the same v.a. that veterans were dying waiting fo...

Almost 500,000 today, and how can that with be? the lesson that we have seen in location after location is when we improve access to care whether it is by adding staff or space or productivity or care in the community, more veterans come to v.a. for more care. >> you are saying that you are a vi victim of your own success? >> i would say that the challenge that we have is a structural challenge. >> when our sources tell us that the reality is that the veterans are weight months you would say -- >> i would say that we work every single day trying to find ways to make it better. i know as you ha...