The VA West Los Angeles Medical Center has a fly infestation that has led to postponements of more than 80 surgeries, CBS2 in Los Angeles reported.
The Veterans Administration said that 83 surgeries had to be postponed and operating rooms at the center were closed 22 days from Nov. 2016 through February of 2018 because of the infestation, CBS2 reported.
"I don't think there's any hospital in this country that would find it acceptable to have flies on a routine basis," said Dr. Christian Head, the associate director and chief of staff for quality assurance at the hospital.
Brian Brown, LA Museum of Natural History curator of entomology, explained in the report the dangers of flies in the hospital.
"They're attracted to open wounds for the fluids that they need to sustain themselves and also to keep from drying out… they could also lay eggs on the open wounds," Brown said, CBS2 reported.
Head said that he and others reported the fly issue and the VA suspended one doctor and retaliated against him, the CBS2 report said.
"I believe there's a culture in the Veterans Administration that punishes people who are willing to come forward," said the doctor, CBS2 reported.
The VA, in a statement to CBS2, said that all operation rooms at the facility are open but they found "zero evidence of patient harm."
The facility is working "closely with subject matter experts to ensure this does not occur again," said Nikki Baker of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in a statement, the CBS2 report said.
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