Ružomberok hospital suspends some planned surgeries due to fire

The Central Military Hospital in Ružomberok (Žilina region) has suspended some of its planned surgeries due to a fire which broke out on Sunday. "With regards to the extent of damage to the building of the hospital's surgical pavilion, the management decided to suspend planned surgeries at the clinics of surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, trauma surgery and vascular surgery for the next 48 hours," said Defence Ministry spokesperson Martina Kovaľ Kakaščíková. Employees of individual clinics will gradually contact patients who were supposed to undergo surgeries at any of the aforementioned clinics on October 18 and 19. Patients will be offered an alternative date for surgery as soon as the situation allows for it.
The fire broke out in the attic of the Central Military Hospital's surgical pavilion at about 7.30 a.m. on Sunday. The hospital immediately started evacuating patients. The fire was localized and extinguished only to ignite again some two hours later. Fire-fighters managed to get the fire under control shortly after 2 p.m.