Türkiye's oldest university hospital halting services due to earthquake safety concerns

Photo: AA

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İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine is halting most of its services due to earthquake concerns, the rector of the university announced today (February 27).

The decision was taken after an evaluation by a team of academics from the university's civil engineering department, Prof. Nuri Aydın said at a press conference at the university.

Founded in 1827, the Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine is the oldest medical school in Türkiye.

A complex comprising 17 buildings, the dining hall building and student dormitories were found to be risky, Aydın said, adding, "For this reason, the closed area of ​​approximately 105 thousand square meters, which constitutes the main structure of Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, will not be able to continue its service."

Patient admissions

Apart from the emergency and children's services, all other departments of the hospital will be out of service, and adult patient admissions to the hospital have been stopped, the rector further said.

"A total of 800 patient beds belonging to internal and surgical departments, 32 operating rooms, intensive care, bone marrow and dialysis units, the liver and kidney transplantation center, 117 units and units providing outpatient health services, advanced robotic surgery center, endoscopy units, advanced interventional and diagnostic imaging units, as well as all adult outpatient and inpatient admissions and all surgeries have been stopped."

The operations will continue in a closed area of 75,000 square meters, which comprises steel construction buildings, historical buildings and concrete buildings that are not risky, said Aydın. "These areas will be rearranged in a short time, and outpatients in Cerrahpaşa will resume, albeit limited."

The action will affect about 4,500 students, according to the rector. (AS/VK)