The Veterans Administration inspector general has delivered a report detailing the facts that led to a veteran shooting and killing himself six days after seeking help in a D.C. VA facility.
The report, which was released Tuesday, outlined the poor communication and judgment of several mental health and emergency room staff. Worse, however, it showed a callous lack of concern by one of the ER's attending doctors, the Washington Post reported.
“[The patient] can go shoot [themself]. I do not care,” the physician shouted, dismissing the vet's symptoms. He then told police to eject the veteran, deciding that he was "malingering" and "ranting."
The doctor doesn't have a history of any verbal attacks, but the information made it into the report that the hospital had been under fire for years of poor patient care.
