Appeal for transfer of refugees

AN appeal aimed at the Australian government by its medical community and religious leaders has called for the immediate transfer of more than 60 refugees still in living in Papua New Guinea.
In two open letters’ which were scheduled to be delivered yesterday, calls were made for refugees and people seeking asylum to be repatriated and provided with the long awaited medical care in Australia.
Dr Nilanthy Vigneswaran, an Infectious Diseases Fellow, said: “These letters speak to the ever growing calls within Australia’s healthcare community to end the suffering and dehumanisation of refugees in PNG, and immediately provide them with urgent and long awaited medical care they have been neglected.
“Fourteen persons have died in Australia’s offshore detention in the last 10 years.
“Coronial inquests have identified that unacceptable delays in transferring people to tertiary centres for urgent medical care directly contributed to these preventable deaths.
“We do not view these incidents as tragic isolated events, rather they represent a systemic failure.
“The medical care available to people held offshore is far below the standard of that accessed by the Australian public.”
The two open letters, signed by more than 800 health professionals and religious leaders, deliberated on the concerns of health, safety and wellbeing and called for a just and compassionate treatment of people who were awaiting resettlement process. The group organised for parliament involved nine signatories to the open letters.
Representing healthcare professionals who signed the letter, Professor David Isaacs said: “People have been held in PNG for more than 10 years now, causing enormous harm to their health and they have been denied adequate healthcare. They should be brought here immediately.”