A federal agency has found that the Manchester VA Medical Center failed to take seriously whistleblower complaints of substandard care at the facility, including that a number of patients developed serious spinal cord diseases as a result of clinical neglect.

The findings announced Thursday from the Office of the Special Counsel follow reports last summer from The Boston Globe that 11 physicians and medical employees alleged the Manchester facility was endangering patients. They described a fly-infested operating room, surgical instruments that weren't always sterilized and patients whose conditions were ignored or weren't treated properly.

In response to the Globe report, Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin immediately removed three top officials and ordered an investigation.

A spokesperson for the VA did not respond to a request for comment.