Hampton VA Medical Center — Local services in Hampton

After 20+years being a patient you'd think things would be better..the only thing I see better is the lab and pharmacy..The staff that I have personally experienced appear inexperienced..our PCP's are not DOCTORS.They are mostly NURSE PRACTITIONERS..I have a medical background and resent being made to feel unintelligent...I feel as if they think all veterans are beneath them ..IV had a tire shoulder sence Sept...IV had bone scans and MRI..tears can only be healed via surgery yet IV had 4 different people given me shot...one day with high blood pressure and immediately put on blood pressure meds ...I do not have a history of high blood pressure...I can say plenty more but this site limit's other issues IV observed....I all do surveys for the VA every few months..and get paid for doing so...... I hear another VA is being built.. Really...you can't fully staff this one so what makes you think you can fully staff a new VA.i also request a copy of of my visits to each of my appointments..upon readying their reports I find they are inaccurate.lies, things that was never said or done......the equipment for vitals/weight aren't accurate.. there's so much wrong in the in the reports IV collected over a 29+ year period ..I can only imagine how many more veterans have inaccurate reports .... It's IV had extensive blood work done ..I requested a copy of the repor...basic labs, no flag...yet when I read results of my cell morphology there was so many Highs which causevconcern...i went back to my Lab books to do my own research..its bn years since Iv bn in a lab working...these concerns were NOT noted in the results sent to me by my PPCP....NO mention of the cell morphology at all..i got the results in the mail before she has a chance to view the ..for her NOT to even mention my cell morphology I believe put me at risk of serious issues ..what I read read is EXTREMELY concerning..indications if possible onset of kidney failure, cancers scsuch as leukemia..yest I brought this issue to her attention.....why was I not told there was an issue with my cell morphology....so, now she's made an appointment for me to cssee an oncologist...my cells are large and could indicate a sserservere underlying problem...that being said, WE NEED EXPIERNCED staff .not trainees..shameful..Not professional in the least. What the Sam hill is thgoing on....had oral surgery.., stiches in my mouth..given powder fro a friend to put in my gums(IM HUNGRY)..It worked..nu. My gums... needless to say it was cocaine....I had to do a urine test...tested positive for cocaine...I'm not dumb, stupid or crazy....had I known I had the drug in my , there is no way I'd be peeing in a cup...but oh..instead of reaching out to me my PCP ran straight to her supervisor..now I'm left to do weed, hemp and pure THC.... That's not all...20 years and NEVER had a problem with high blood pressure...one day mind you, my pressure wouldn't go down ..sooo, now I'm prescribed blood pressure meds..NOT...I HAVE NO HISTORY IF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE... Now we are going to talk about PAIN MANAGEMENT...DR. DOSS...asked why I didn't use a cane...I have no balance problem nor pressure problem..he literally told me . " When you fall on ur ass you will have hip problems." Really...is that a professional...NOT....SO now after 20 years I'm have a HISTORY OF COCAINE USE AND A HISTORY IF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE...NOT.... Personally I think ALL of ur employees should have PSYCH TEST DONE BEFORE HIRING..IF ITS NOT ALREADY BEING DONE ...IV had 4 TKR within 5 years of each other and surgery on both shoulders.. this is NOT ACCEPTABLE....AND YES I WILL HAVE A TALK WITH MY PCP ON MAY 10th...we will need a chaperone...and that's my right to ask for one. Why are we given extension to cleave messags on when there's never a return call...I don't want to hear.." well we have so many patients to see..blah blah blah...EXCUSE ME....THISE PEOPLE THAT LEAVES MESSAGES ARE ALSO About ME? CNA, MEDICAL LAB TECH, PSYCH TECH,....S.H.A.P.E, BELGIUM, NATO, BRUSSELS BELGIUM, FT IRWIN...NTC.. can't get in touch...

I've been waiting to write a review for some time now and, honestly, I'm somewhat conflicted. I've been going to this VA for four years.

I completely share the sentiments and dissatisfaction of many reviewers surrounding some key areas such as making an appointment, reaching someone on the phone, wait times, customer service, parking, and empathy from most VA staff. All of those categories are 1/5 stars; shameful. Good luck reaching anyone on the phone; good luck getting a timely appointment and good luck finding a parking spot. Expect to routinely speak with Patient Advocates who won't advocate for you in the least.

Still, I've had two major surgeries at the VA, one of which was emergent and the other urgent. Both times, I had a team of healthcare professionals put forward outstanding work to repair a major muscle tear and months later perform an emergent life-saving procedure. Both surgeries were a complete success and I'm back to living my life fully. For the surgeries themselves and ultimate outcome, 5/5. Dr. Castro in particular, who was on call for my emergent procedure, really made me feel at ease, operated for hours into the night and showed up early Saturday morning after I woke up to see how I was. I could tell she was exhausted and that meant a lot to me.

Post-operative care was like most care at the VA, awful. A lot of unreturned phone calls, talking to tele-nurses because no one else will speak with you, and a peri-operative team that could just care less. You have no idea what to expect, what your surgical recover should or should not look like and no idea what to do if something goes wrong except "go to the nearest ER". Post operatively, 1/5.

I've been to the ER a few times. One tendon rupture, one muscle rupture and my life-threatening emergency. I've never had a bad ER experience, I think because my conditions were truly urgent/emergent. I agree, the ER doesn't handle flu-like symptoms well, or minor aches, or anything you can't clearly define. Yes, if it's packed and your condition is not more emergent than anyone else waiting, you're going to wait. That makes total sense. 4/5 stars for the ER.

Personally, the pharmacy and the lab have never messed up my orders. I used to wait much longer for both but now times are much better. I agree with some reviewers, wait times can still be long at times. But, lab techs find my vein the first time. My meds are right and I'm generally on my way within an hour. Pharmacy staff could care less; zero empathy. 3/5 stars.

Overall, I would say if you REALLY require attention and are having a true emergency, in my experience, the VA is going to drop everything their doing and care for you and do it just as well as any other established hospital system. However, virtually anything less than a true emergency, you can expect to wait, be passed around, be treated poorly, never reach anyone, never be able to make an appointment within a reasonable time and everything else so many reviewers have...

I started going to the VA about 2 years ago and it has bee nothing short of a horror story. I am also a retire and was using the OIF/OEF Clinic and the nurse I was seeing told me I should use Tricare well that right there turned my stomach and I complained to the patient representative at the clinic and she said the same thing. Well I did do something I regret and raised my voice and told these ladies that I earned the right to use this clinic and told them exactly what I thought of them and would say the same to anyone else who would say that to a Veteran. When I exited the Army I had extensive problems that needed to be looked in to and test that needed to be completed. Well the OIF/OEF Clinic did not want to see me any more and they transferred me to Team 1 Dr. Wing before I had seen Dr. Wing The OIF/OEF set me up with a couple of referrals. And it starts on Oct 1 0f 2015 I had a sleep study done and not because it looks good for my VA Claim (I was already rated at 100%) but because I have not slept well for about 20 years. The nurse that did my VA. physical recommend that I have one done because of all the extensive medical issues, So I had the sleep study completed and paperwork was lost so I ask Dr. Wing to put in another referral some time in March because I hadn't heard anything as of yet, so I waited and waited and again had asked Dr. Wing to put in another Referral and Finally I get a call from the office that schedules appointments in the community. now this is August so I get my sleep study done and had the greatest experiences with the Tidewater Neurologists and Sleep Disorder Specialists, Inc. SleepMed Hampton Roads. in Hampton. everything went great and just like last time I need a CPAP Machine now the bad news I have to take the Paperwork back over to The Hampton VA. So I go to the second floor to the CPAP Clinic and want to get my paperwork turned in so I can get a machine well the (Nasty) lady behind the glass tells me we don't do this you have to take it to your primary care so he can put it in another referral to get a CPAP machine (AND I THINK THOSE ARE THE MOST IMPORTAN WORDS AT THE VA) ITS NOT MY JOB!!! well I take the paperwork back down to my PCM and wait for it have to make an appointment to get a referral to get an appointment for some time in October or November to get a CPAP machine. so this process is going to take over a year because of the incompetence and the VA's favorite saying (IT's NOT MY JOB)!!! I ASK PLEASE FIND OUT WHO's JOB IT IS? I Am still young I feel sorry for some of the older gentleman and Lady Veterans that get the run around...