ATLANTA — President Obama said on Monday that his administration had made strides in turning around the veterans health care system, highlighting a decline in the number of veterans facing long waits for doctor visits.

“We’ve hired thousands more doctors, nurses, staff,” Mr. Obama said at a conference of the Disabled American Veterans. “When we really put our sweat and tears and put our shoulder to the wheel, we can make things better.”

The president acknowledged that many veterans remained frustrated by the health care bureaucracy, calling continued delays in seeing doctors “inexcusable.” And he said the country needed to do more to help economically struggling veterans.