\A former doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township was removed from clinical work by his superiors after filing a complaint about on-call doctors not showing up to the hospital, according to a private watchdog group’s report. Thomas Tomasco, a doctor who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said he quit his job “under duress” after he raised concerns about the hospital’s on-call policy, according to a report written by the Project on Government Oversight on Monday. Tomasco told POGO that on-call physicians would give consultations over the phone to emergency VA patients rather than come into the hospital, which he said delayed treatment of patients in need of immediate care. On Aug. 27, 2012, Tomasco reported his concerns in an email to an attorney with the VA’s Philadelphia Office of Regional Counsel. “We have notified our supervisors of this issue and nothing is done,” Tomasco wrote in an email. The next day, Tomasco received a reply from the hospital’s leadership justifying the practices. “It is the consultants [sic] prerogative to either come in or not and they have the legal responsibility for their decision thereafter,” the email said. The VA’s Office of the Medical Inspector later reviewed Tomasco’s claims and determined that the polices were legitimate. “Many facilities, both private and the VA have limited physician resources and their on-call practices are shaped by their available resources and transfer agreements,” the Office of the Medical Inspector reported. After raising concerns at the hospital, Tomasco was suspended for a day without pay in 2012 for allegedly unprofessional conduct. Tomasco contested the disciplinary action, and an appeals board found that “the charge was not sufficient to support the penalty” and the action was overturned, POGO reports. After the suspension, Tomasco was removed from clinical service twice, and was allegedly forced to sit in an empty office with nothing to do for weeks. He resigned from the hospital on April 12, 2013. Monday’s report by POGO is based on comments and complaints filed by nearly 800 current and former VA employees and veterans.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 19:00:52 +0000
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