Australian doctors are ramping up their campaign to have children in detention immediately removed from Nauru.
Australian Medical Association paediatric representative Dr Paul Bauert, who has treated patients on Nauru, said it was an “unconscionable” situation that could be easily avoided.
Health professionals are calling on the government to give the vulnerable children urgent support.
“This is the only situation I’ve come across where it is deliberate government policy which is causing the pain and suffering of these children,” Bauert told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
The AMA has been lobbying the government to change policy on Nauru, but just last month the prime minister, Scott Morrison, rebuffed a plea from the peak doctors’ association.
“I will not put at risk any element of Australia’s border protection policy,” Morrison said.
About 5% of all registered doctors in Australia have signed a letter that was being delivered to Morrison in Canberra on Monday.
Almost 6,000 doctors are demanding the government remove the 80 children from Nauru because of serious mental and physical health concerns.
Bauert said almost all the children in detention on Nauru are traumatised.
“Many are damaged already, but we don’t want this damage to be permanent,” he said. “They need to be assessed and treated as a matter of urgency.
“It’s a miracle we haven’t had a death already.
“I have reviewed many cases of these children myself, it is simply unconscionable that we are keeping these children and their families in a situation which we know is a critical threat to their health and wellbeing,” he said.
“The situation for children on Nauru is a humanitarian emergency requiring urgent intervention and removal of all these children and their families to medical treatment in Australia.”
A separate rally was due to take place outside of parliament on Tuesday calling for the removal of children from Nauru.
The protest was being led by Rural Australians for Refugees.
On Sunday independent candidate for Wentworth and former head of the AMA, Kerryn Phelps, told a forum in Sydney organised by the group Wentworth for Refugees that she was “ashamed” of Australia’s refugee policies.
Phelps urged voters in Wentworth to use the unique opportunity of the byelection to protest Australia’s “inhumane” offshore detention policies.
Phelps said if elected she would work to find a coalition of like-minded MPs to support an immediate end to offshore detention.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
