Workload, Poor Maintenance Driving Workers Away, Some Testify at Hearing
By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 15, 2007; B01
A doctor at the National Naval Medical Center yesterday warned a Pentagon review panel that medical staff at the Bethesda hospital are overworked and suffering from "compassion fatigue."
Even as relatives of injured Marines universally praised the medical care and treatment of families in Bethesda, the doctor and several other current and former employees spoke of problems with the workload, maintenance and facilities at the sprawling complex...
Lt. Cmdr. Brandt E. Rice, a family medicine practitioner at the naval hospital, testified that doctors are saddled with too many administrative duties, lack enough time to devote to patients and face bureaucratic hassles. "My vocalness about this need has been met by some degree of resistance and also retaliation," Rice said.
Piles said ... "We have struggled for two years with a contractor who can't keep up..."
Sandra Bonifant, ...complained of an effort to get a handrail installed to help disabled veterans go up steps into a building on the hospital campus. "We were strong-armed into letting it drop," she testified.
After the hearing, panel members said they were struck by contrasts with the testimony heard the previous day at Walter Reed.
A number of speakers at the Army hospital praised the medical care, but many witnesses told of problems with outpatient care and lack of support given to family members. No such complaints were heard at Bethesda...
No Walter Reed staff members volunteered to testify during Tuesday's hearing. "We really need to understand that difference," Charles Roadman, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and panel member, said of the contrast to the Bethesda hospital hearing.
No comments:
Post a Comment