The decision was arrived at after an emergency meeting on Tuesday to review the impact of the shortage on their delivery.

An internal memo issued by the directorate of surgery to the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital said the following the meeting, all residents in the directorate resolved to suspend new emergency admissions from 12 noon on Tuesday from all admission portals.

The memo indicated however that inpatient care for over 250 patients who were currently on admission would continue.

“Considering our current staff strength, we are of the opinion that further admissions will endanger the lives of patients and impede the provision of quality care. We would like to put on record that this problem was anticipated by all residents in the hospital and management was notified in writing two weeks ago. Unfortunately, management is yet to communicate a response. This problem has been recurring for the past 7 years and we hope an appropriate action is taken to resolve this issue permanently,” the surgery directorate added.