Auditors: Privacy lacking at some VA hospitals

The AP reports:

Veterans Affairs Department hospitals and clinics aren't always making sure female veterans have privacy when they bathe and receive exams, government auditors said Tuesday.

As thousands of women return from Iraq and Afghanistan and enter the VA's health system, the Government Accountability Office reported that no VA hospital or outpatient clinic under review is complying fully with federal privacy requirements.

GAO investigators found that many VA facilities had gynecological tables that faced the door — including one door that opened to a waiting room. It also found instances where women had to walk through a waiting area to use the restroom, instead of it being next to an exam room as required by VA policy.

At four hospitals investigators visited, women were not guaranteed access to a private bathing facility. In two of those cases, there wasn't a lock on the door.

Quality health care that can never be taken away! This is just a taste of what socialized medicine will bring.