I am also a 75 year old Viet Nam (Gulf of Tonkin) Navy vet 1961-65.
I have had both knees replaced at the Palo Alto VA and have had several other surgeries performed there.
I have had excellent treatment and all medical staff were professional, caring and considerate. There were often times when nurses and doctors were extremely busy and had to focus on the most seriously ill or injured patients before dealing with those who were basically stable.
Those patients who were serious yet stable were seen as soon as time allowed.
I was in a private/semi-private room several times, and at other times, in a ward with other patients. The ward was good because we looked out for each other when possible A ward is a little noisy at times but still good.
In a private room its quiet but if you cant trigger the emergency notifier tied to you things can go bad quickly.
I have seen guys strongly refuse to be restrained in their wheel chair or who try to get out of bed when no nurses are nearby to stop them. I was one of those guys during one of my admissions. Fortunately I didnt fall and hit my head--though I easily could have.HAD I FALLEN IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE FAULT OF THE VA. Its not possible to have your own personal nurse so when someone considered a potential fall victim decides he doesnt want or need restraint, he sets himself up for injury. When he disobeys orders and/or doctors instruction and gets hurt it is totally his fault, not that of the hospital staff.
The Palo Alto VA has trouble hiring doctors because they cant afford to buy a house in Palo Alto. My VA doctor told me there is a major shortage of VA doctors in the whole Palo Alto VA System (Livermore, Modesto and other clinics) and the present fix is to try to hire as many temporary doctors as possible.
The issue here is the attempt to file a legal claim when it is not justified. Ambulance chasing attorneys and money chasing people are usually behind these frivolous lawsuits. Its one of the reasons for the high cost of malpractice insurance. If a patient has the wrong leg or arm amputated this would create definite legal grounds for a lawsuits.
The VA is not a cash cow and should not be seen as one.