The director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system and two others have been placed on administrative leave amid claims of a secret waiting list and claims that 40-plus veterans died waiting for care . These allegations have been exposed in a series of exclusive reports by the CNN Investigations unit . The announcement Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki came a day after officials at the Phoenix VA denied in interviews with CNN the existence of such a list , only to be called liars hours later by the top VA physician who first appeared on CNN and brought the allegations to light . `` We believe it is important to allow an independent , objective review to proceed , '' Shinseki said in a written statement . `` ... These allegations , if true , are absolutely unacceptable and if the Inspector General 's investigation substantiates these claims , swift and appropriate action will be taken . '' Those placed on leave , according to the statement , are Phoenix VA Director Sharon Helman , Associate Director Lance Robinson and a third employee , who was not identified by name . Retired VA doctor : There 's a secret wait list in Phoenix . Shinseki 's office denied repeated requests by CNN over six months to interview the secretary about the allegations . Sources told CNN the managers at the VA concocted an elaborate scheme to cover up long wait times there . The sources said more than 1,400 veterans were placed on the purported secret list and that documents were shredded to hide the evidence . According to sources , at least 40 U.S veterans died waiting for care at the facility , many of whom were on the list . These issues raised in CNN 's exclusive investigation have quickly drawn attention in Washington . On Monday , President Barack Obama said he called on Shineski to investigate what has happened in Phoenix . In recent days , numerous members of Congress have called for hearings on the Phoenix VA , and at least three members of Congress have publicly called for Helman 's resignation . Tears , angry accusations mark hearing on delayed VA care . But in an interview with CNN on Tuesday , Helman and her chief of staff , Dr. Darren Deering , denied any secret effort to cover up or hide wait times . `` We have never instructed our staff to create a secret list , to maintain a secret list , to shred a secret list -- that has never come from our office as far as instruction to our staff , '' said Deering . `` It 's never come from me , '' added Helman . Dr. Sam Foote , a 24-year VA physician and clinic director , recently retired and went public with the details of the list , went on the air publicly for the first time with CNN one week ago . He denounced Helman 's claim . `` They started this secret list in February of 2013 , '' Foote said . `` At some time , they changed over from paper to electronic , in early summer , maybe approximately June or July . And transferred names over to the electronic waiting list . And she [ Helman ] was called on an ethics consult evaluation about that -- it 's written down , documented in July . '' That documentation includes e-mails from July 2013 , which were reported by CNN , that show top management , including Helman , were well-aware about the actual wait times , knew about the off-the-books list and even defended its use to her staff . When directly asked earlier this week about whether evidence of wait times was shredded and whether the secret list existed , Deering stated : . `` I think there is some confusion amongst our staff . When we came on as a leadership team in 2012 , the practice at that time was that they would schedule new veterans who would were coming in for care way out into the future . Sometimes a year , sometimes 14 months . And that was the appointment that that veteran was given . `` As we started to tackle our challenges of access , we implemented a tool that the VA uses nationally called the electronic wait list . And what that tool is it 's an electronic waiting list that allows us to everyday look to see who is waiting for an appointment . `` So what we did is we took those patients that were scheduled way out into the future , and we put them on this national tool that the VA uses so that we could track them . What that did is , rather than having an appointment 14 months out into the future , it put them on this EWL electronic waiting list , so that when we had an appointment that came open , so if a veteran called next week and canceled their appointment , we could pull a veteran off this list and get them into that slot . `` So it actually improved the probability of these veterans getting an appointment sooner . And in that transition time , I think there was some confusion among staff , I think there were some folks who did not understand that , and I think that 's where these allegations are coming from . '' January : Veterans dying because of health care delays . January : Congress demands answers . November : A dire situation in South Carolina .
U.S. Secretary of CNN Sharon Helman calls for a review . U.S. announced that the Phoenix VA director has been placed on leave . CNN has been investigating allegations of a secret wait list at the Phoenix VA . In CNN interview , Director Eric Shinseki denied existence of such a list .