Page 8 - Phoenix Va News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Appointment, and that is instances where the care has been delivered, but maybe some administrative issue that has not been corrected yet that allows the kconsult to be removed. >> does it necessarily mean that 8,000 patients are not waiting 90 days. >> patently, they are not waiting 90 days, but are they waiting more than they should, yes. >> how can you make a statement that they are not. >> some of them are not. >> but how many are not? >> no, i don't know. i don't know for phoenix and i can't tell you for the top of the v.a. >> and it is hardly limited to phoenix. this internal draft memo ...

Procedures to remove tumors. these are specialty appointments that need to be seen immediately by the v.a. >> reporter: these v.a. documents show just this past august in phoenix there were more than 8,000 appointments waiting more than 9 on days. sloan gibson is the deputy secretary of the department of veterans affairs, brought on last year to fix this mess. >> the phoenix v.a., the center of this whole things, i'm going to let you look at that for just a second. it shows more than 8,000 patients waiting more than 90 days for an appointment. now, explain to me what this is and if that's true...

Learn ed th learned that the va managers were already searching for the leak. >> in fact, i happen to know that once we sent documents to the v.a. regarding this interview, there were active investigations go g ing on by managers certain willy in l.a. and in phoenix to find out who could possibly have had access to the documents, and who could possibly have given them to cnn? >> and there should not have been investigations, period. i have made it clear more times than i can count inf every form that i can come up with that retaliation against whistle-blowers won't be tolerated. >> dr. catheri...

Still not easy. you know two manager reese moved from the phoenix v.a. in the wake of that scandal? they're still on paid leave. it's been like 18 months. sloan gibson and secretary mcdonald, i can sense their is frustration. they're trying to manage this bureaucracy. it is out of control. they're having a tough time firing poor performers. what they try to do is move them around, move them into positions where they can't do any hampl, but it is not easy. >> drew, thank you. up next breaking news in capitol hill about the house leadership. paul ryan tonight saying he is willing to be speaker...

There were active investigations going on by managers, certainly in l.a. and in phoenix to find out who could possibly have had access to those documents and who could possibly have given them to cnn. >> and there should not have been investigations, period. i have made it clear more times than i can count, in every form that i can come up with that retaliation against whistle-blowers won't by tolerated. >> dr. catherine mitchell, one of the original whistle-blowers in phoenix say lifelong bureaucrats know they will not be fired, which is why many in the v.a. have chosen to keep their mouths s...