HAMPTON, Va. (WVEC) -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General just released the report from a visit to the Hampton VA Medical Center.
It comes after a surprise examination by the office last summer, which was part of the Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program.
The inspections are supposed to evaluate the quality of care for inpatient and outpatient services at VA facilities. Hampton's review was done to ensure the nation's veterans here get high-quality and timely care.
After their surprise visit on July 10, inspectors noted there are opportunities to improve patient satisfaction at the Hampton VA..
The Inspector General's Office reviewed employee and patient surveys to find out how people feel about the facility. The report reads, "In all, employees appear more satisfied than patients with the leadership and care provided."
A chart of ratings compares Hampton to the VA system average. It found three of every four patient surveys show lower ratings for Hampton than the VA average rating.
For the question, "Would you recommend this hospital to your friends and family?" 65.8 percent of responses were "Definitely yes" for the VA system. For Hampton, that number goes down to 55 percent of responses of "Definitely yes."
Hampton does better for inpatient responses to "I felt like a valued customer." An average of 83.2 percent of responses here were, "Agree or Strongly Agree." For the Veterans Health Administration as a whole, that number goes down just a bit to 82.8 percent.
One specific area of improvement is in mental health benefits, a service many veterans seek.
At Hampton's Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment program, inspectors said there are deficiencies with panic alarm testing and security. At the time of the visit, seven of the 32 surveillance cameras on the locked mental health unit were not functioning.
The facility responded it expects to have a new system in place within a year or two. In the meantime, OIG wants staff to perform patient rounds every 15 minutes and better monitor and document response times to alarms.
The report leaves about 20 recommendations for improvement. Inspectors hope Hampton leadership will use them as a "road map" to address issues. They wrote, "If left unattended, (the issues) may eventually interfere with the delivery of quality healthcare."
The medical center director told 13News Now they take these recommendations "seriously and act immediately."
“We concurred with their recommendations and took action as noted on pages 15 through 37,” Ronald Johnson said in a statement. “No recommendations noted any patient safety concerns or harm. All areas focused on improving documentation compliance, security procedures, and training in various areas and services. We have completed all recommendations and are in the sustainability phase of the review. We welcome any reviews, as we see them as opportunities and tools to improve and provide the best care to our Veterans.”
These reviews are performed about every three years.
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