WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress has released a report saying solutions to problems at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington are being slowed by staff shortages.
The Government Accountability Office report, which comes more than six months after troubles were first reported at Walter Reed, said the Pentagon's plan to repair the center and other military hospitals are being threatened by shortages of nurses and social workers as well as a lack of a concrete plan to improve long-term care for wounded military personnel, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Congressional oversight committee members said the report shows efforts to reform the bureaucracy in military medical care have become tied up in their own bureaucracy.
"The pace of change is frustratingly slow," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the oversight committee. "Still the horror stories continue."
The report said the Army has moved to streamline the disability evaluation process, but "many challenges remain, and critical questions remain unanswered."
"After so many promises but so little progress, we need to see more concrete results," said Rep. Thomas Davis III, R-Va., the ranking Republican on the panel.
