The Leavenworth Veterans Affairs hospital says it has changed the way it screens emergency-room patients after the VA inspector general’s office said it was doing so incorrectly.

Ten percent of the 1,120 patients who visited the Leavenworth ER from late March to late May were sent to the hospital’s primary care clinic without receiving the required medical screening in the ER, according to a report released by the VA Office of the Inspector General this month. Nearly half of those patients did not see a doctor or midlevel provider on the day of their visit and three patients were returned to the ER after the clinic determined it could not meet their needs, the report stated.

Jim Gleisberg, a spokesman for the VA medical center in Leavenworth, said the hospital had implemented a plan earlier this year to try to shorten its emergency-room wait times, which can be up to four hours for patients with minor issues. So on weekdays, when the VA primary care office was open and the ER was busy, a nurse triaged all patients and sent those with nonemergencies upstairs to the clinic, he added.

But during the inspection in May, the Leavenworth hospital learned that all patients who come to the ER must be screened by a doctor or midlevel provider there, Gleisberg said.

In its report, the inspector general’s office noted that the hospital stopped the practice immediately upon discovering that it went against protocol. The office reviewed a sample of 150 patients who visited the ER in July; all had received the required medical screening.

Don Dalquest, commander for American Legion Dorsey Liberty Post 14 in Lawrence, said he hadn’t heard of any problems at the Leavenworth medical center; if anything, he noted, the hospital has a good reputation among area veterans.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, said she received the report last week and met with hospital officials to discuss their plan of action.

“Rest assured, I will remain in close contact with the facility and the regional director to ensure successful implementation of this plan,” she said in a statement. “I will not stop working until our veterans receive the highest quality and timely care they deserve.”