The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is standing in solidarity with nurses, doctors and medical staff at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane who are steadfastly refusing to allow baby Asha to be discharged and returned to Nauru.
Condemning the Federal Government’s treatment of asylum seekers in off-shore detention centres, ANMF Federal Secretary Lee Thomas has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to directly intervene and “show some compassion”.
“As a Father and a Grandfather, Mr Turnbull must surely realise that Nauru is not a safe environment for a sick baby,” Ms Thomas.
“That’s why he cannot stand back and allow authorities to put Asha’s health at risk by removing her from the safety of hospital care and sending her back to the horrific conditions asylum seekers are experiencing in detention.
“As an advanced and civil society, Australia has a moral and legal obligation to treat every human being compassionately and with respect, courtesy and consideration.
“The Government’s policy of indefinite detention, especially of children, is morally unacceptable. “
Ms Thomas said the Government must accept the clinical decision of doctors, nurses and medical staff who have kept Asha in hospital until a safe and suitable home for her has been identified.
“The ANMF fully supports the nurses at Lady Cilento whose first responsibility is to protect and promote the health and safety of their patients. They must be allowed to meet their mandatory Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Standards in the provision of proper, basic health care for their patients like Asha. Nurses should never be asked, or worse, coerced to compromise these standards,” Ms Thomas said.
“Rest assured, as frontline health professionals these nurses won’t ignore their moral and legal obligations.
“The ANMF is now calling on Mr Turnbull to step-in and show some compassion for Asha.”
Footnote: The ANMF will join other health professionals and community groups at an AMA forum in Sydney on Sunday 21 February, to condemn the Government’s policy on off-shore detention.
