The wait time for new patients seeking a primary care doctor at the VA Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, is 54 days – nearly four times what the Department of Veterans Affairs had set as a goal.
VA guidelines, since abandoned, said veterans should be seen within 14 days of their desired date for a primary care appointment. The department has since said meeting that target was unattainable given existing resources and growing demand.
Other VA facilities in West Virginia also are exceeding that goal. Martinsburg’s wait time is 47 days; Beckley’s is 39 days; Huntington’s is just under 29 days.
The numbers were released Monday by the Department of Veterans Affairs as part of a national audit.