Document about sending asylum seekers in Nauru to PNG for medical treatment
Last month I reported that asylum seekers and refugees had been told they would be sent to PNG for medical treatment, not Australia.
I have now obtained a document titled “Messaging points for TRANSFEREES transferring to POM for medical treatment (Health Capability and Scrutiny input)”.
According to the document, asylum seekers who are referred by IHMS for “further medical investigation or treatment” will be sent to the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby.
The document says “I am/we are pleased to announce that Papua New Guinea has agreed to temporarily receive asylum seekers from Nauru for the purposes of receiving medical treatment, where the treatment is not available on Nauru.”
The document says “Once you have undergone your medical investigation or treatment, you will return to Nauru.”
“If you decline to transfer to Port Moresby for your appointment, you will be considered to have refused medical treatment. A new appointment in Australia or another country will not be arranged for you.”
“If you choose to remain in Nauru and not transfer temporarily to Port Moresby to accept medical care, you will continue to receive medical treatment and care available in Nauru.”
UPDATE: 17 September
On 16 September I received a reply to an email which I sent to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on 29 July regarding medical transfers of asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru to Papua New Guinea.
The reply came from Rebecca Hicks from the Australian Border Force (ABF) Ministerial Correspondence Section.
Ms Hicks states “Medical professionals assess each case individually and if a transferee has a significant medical condition which cannot be treated in Nauru they may be transferred to another country, including Australia and Papua New Guinea for treatment. When their treatment has been completed and they are fit to transfer, they will be returned to Nauru.”
This contradicts the document I received from Nauru, titled “Messaging points for TRANSFEREES transferring to POM for medical treatment (Health Capability and Scrutiny input)” which states “If you decline to transfer to Port Moresby for your appointment, you will be considered to have refused medical treatment. A new appointment in Australia or another country will not be arranged for you.”
A source has told me that there are 8 pregnant asylum seekers in detention in Nauru and 9 pregnant refugees in the community.
The source said that a psychologist who works for IHMS told one of the pregnant asylum seekers that her choices were to go to Papua New Guinea to give birth, stay in Nauru, or have an abortion. This also contradicts the statement I received from the ABF.
All pregnant asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru, and their families, should be brought to Australia.
