A day after blaze rendered the operation theatre complex non-functional, the authorities of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is likely to suspend admission of patients to the emergency department of the AIIMS Trauma Centre for a month.

The fire which broke out of Sunday had left several surgeries scheduled for Monday postponed due to the non-functional Operation Theatre (OT).

On an average, 25-30 emergency surgeries are performed at the five major operation theatres of the facility, named Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, on a daily basis.

Sources confirmed that due to non-functional OT complex, no new patients can be admitted. They further said that four to five emergency surgeries scheduled for Monday that could not wait are being performed at the main AIIMS facility. Rest of the surgeries would be performed over the next few days based on priority,” he added.

However, the outpatient department of the facility is functional and the patients coming for follow-ups are being treated, they said.

Meanwhile, patients had a hard time as they were not aware of the development. When they arrived at the hospital for treatment were sent back or referred to the main AIIMS hospital, besides Safdarjung and RML hospitals.

Though the extent of the damage to the OT complex has not yet been ascertained, the engineering team which inspected it Monday has estimated the repair would take at least two months as two out of the five major operation theatres were charred, a source said.

The emergency department of the hospital witnesses a footfall of an average 250-300 patient per day.

Around 50 patients from different floors of the JPN Trauma Centre’s Wing ‘A’, located above the operation complex, and were moved out as smoke engulfed the floors. They were shifted to other wards.The electricity supply was also stopped in the building at that time.

There was also a leakage in the oxygen supply pipe due to which the supply to the building had to be stopped twice, each for around 30 minutes, during which the patients on ventilator were managed manually by the doctors, he added.