What you can do

Referral or consult delays

Referrals stall quietly. Asking for the consult date and status puts a clock on it.

Steps

Ask your care team for the date the consult was entered and its current status.
Ask whether the consult can go to community care if the VA cannot schedule it in time.
If the wait is longer than 20 days (28 for specialty care) or the drive is too far, you may qualify for care outside the VA. Check community care
If you get no answer within a week, send the letter below to the Patient Advocate.

Who to contact

Patient Advocate: Ask your VA facility’s main number for the Patient Advocate.Handles complaints at the facility. Start here.
Your member of Congress: Find your Representative · Your SenatorsEvery office has caseworkers who help with VA problems for free. Ask for “casework”; they can contact the VA for you with your written permission.
White House VA Hotline: 855-948-231124 hours a day. For concerns the facility hasn’t resolved.
VA Inspector General hotline: 800-488-8244 · report onlineOnly if you believe wait times or records were falsified, or other wrongdoing.

In crisis? Call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. In an emergency, call 911.

Ready-to-send letter

Fill in the parts in [brackets], then send it by secure message, email or mail to the Patient Advocate. Keep a copy. Don’t include your full Social Security number.

After it’s resolved, or not

Update your review so the next Veteran knows what happened. If the VA marks this problem fixed, Veterans who visit afterward are asked whether it really was; your answer decides.

Update or write a review

Practical help from Veterans, not legal advice. RateMyVA is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.