February 1, 2008, MARTINSBURG, W.Va.
 
Mold found throughout the Veterans Affairs Medical Center topped the list of concerns uncovered by federal investigators.

In a report released Thursday, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General also found problems with the medical center's radiology department, and reported that a former surgeon at the hospital once postponed an operation to finish lunch.

The inspectors, though, could not substantiate a number of claims made by a surgeon at the hospital, whose name was withheld from the final report. The report found that most of the problems have been corrected by the hospital since they were first identified.

The medical center referred calls seeking comment to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington. A call to the VA was not immediately returned Friday.
The most significant problem identified by the report was the identification of "widespread" mold in two units of the hospital. Mold was identified in fall 2006 and April 2007, but since then, the report concludes, the medical center took appropriate steps to have it removed.

The inspectors also found a small number of inaccurately read radiology studies. The medical center now requires a "quality monitor" to conduct double readings of radiological film, which the report says should provide the necessary oversight.

The report also noted that a patient canceled surgery after deciding not to wait an hour for an unnamed former chief of surgery to eat his lunch.

Out of 15 issues in the original complaint, the inspectors were able to substantiate four.

The report recommends that the medical center's director monitor the situation and continue with the implementation of recommendations made last year by a task force that inspected the facility.

The Martinsburg medical center serves a veteran population of about 129,000 in an area that includes parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

In a separate report in December, inspectors from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration found three health and safety violations at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, including two deemed serious.

OSHA said the serious violations involved employees' use of respirators when they are exposed to paint vapors, mold, tuberculosis or other hazards.

OSHA said the hospital did not give employees sufficient training and information to ensure that they were aware of the respirators' limitations. Workers also were not given an odor threshold test to ensure that their respirator masks fit properly.

The third violation alleged that the hospital failed to provide employees timely access to their medical records.
 
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