Most buildings of Cerrahpaşa closed after deemed risky

ISTANBUL

With most of the buildings in Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medicine Faculty facing a risk of collapse from a possible earthquake, admission of patients and surgeries have been stopped, while the emergency room and pediatrics units remain open.

“After the recent earthquakes, the evaluation was carried out by our university teams on our buildings,” Rector Prof. Dr. Nuri Aydın said in his statement.

As a result of the evaluation, the team determined that the monoblock building complex comprising 17 separate buildings does not have the security level required to continue medical services for patients.

All adult outpatient and inpatient admissions and all surgeries have been stopped, except for the emergency and pediatrics units, Aydın said.

The poor condition of the buildings of Istanbul University Medicine Faculty and Cerrahpaşa Medicine Faculty has long been discussed by students and employees of the institution and came to the agenda on social media following the recent earthquakes.

Aydın announced that they closed some buildings belonging to the faculty, putting a halt to the education and health services provided in those buildings.

Stressing that negotiations are ongoing to continue the activities of the closed departments, Aydın stated the faculty would continue its activities in an enclosed area of approximately 75,000 square meters consisting of historical buildings and reinforced concrete structures that are deemed safe.

These areas will be organized soon, and outpatient care will continue in Cerrahpaşa, albeit limited.

Health services in the fields of pediatrics, medical oncology and radiation oncology and in the emergency room will continue to the extent possible, Aydın added.

Necessary measures are being taken in communication with the relevant institutions in order to minimize the impact of this situation on the patients.