Sen. Roberts requests immediate investigation of Wichita VA allegations

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts on Friday requested an immediate investigation into “potential allegations” against a staff member of Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita.

In a letter addressed to a deputy inspector general with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the senator noted an Eagle article about unspecified allegations by surgical residents in training involving a surgeon at the medical center. The article first appeared on Kansas.com on Thursday.

The article quoted officials with the KU School of Medicine-Wichita saying that surgical trainees had made allegations that prompted the school to remove them from a surgical service at the center. The removal was made to protect the learning environment for the trainees bringing the allegations, and Veterans Affairs is investigating the allegations, school officials said. They stressed that the removal applied only to a surgical service involving one surgeon at the Wichita VA center.

In his letter, Roberts said, “I understand that personnel and privacy issues prevent staff at the Wichita VA from discussing these potential allegations with me. For this reason, I am requesting that an investigation into these matters be performed immediately so that any potential issues may be resolved in a timely manner.”

The senator also asked that he be told of the conclusion of the investigation “to let me know the matter was resolved.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Sen. Roberts requests immediate investigation of Wichita VA allegations."