The independent watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs said the department’s health system is facing a severe staffing shortage of clinical and nonclinical workers that has worsened since last year - at the same time the department has shed tens of thousands of workers and recruited fewer medical workers.

The inspector general’s office released its annual report Tuesday, revealing the extent of staffing shortages that have plagued the department for years and have worsened this year. All of the Veterans Health Administration’s 139 medical center campuses reported lacking workers, and reports of severe shortages in various occupations increased 50 percent from the previous fiscal year.

However, the survey of the medical centers, which was completed in April, did not fully capture

See Full Page