Atlanta Unfiltered

August 5, 2009 --

Federal investigators looked into charges of substandard care and possibly preventable deaths at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, according to a recent report, but could not substantiate the allegations.

A tipster filed complaints about inadequate care in outpatient clinics and in the medical/telemetry unit at the hospital, located on Clairmont Road in Decatur, according to an online report by the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Investigators confirmed some of the alleged incidents, the July 22 report said, but could not establish that poor medical care was a factor.

Incidents under review included:

– Mishandling by medical staff of a breast cancer patient’s adverse reaction to chemotherapy.

– Pressure ulcers, or bedsores, suffered by a female veteran admitted to the hospital for a hip replacement.

– Poor hygiene that resulted in an infection for a patient receiving a flu shot.

Investigators said they also could not confirm the complainant’s allegation that some patients may have died due to poor care in the hospital’s medical/telemetry unit on the seventh floor:

“In an effort to identify negative patient care trends, we reviewed documents related to infection control, pressure ulcer incidence, and mortality data on the seventh floor. We did not identify any patterns, trends, or other concerns that would be indicative of substandard patient care.”