Protest grows as doctors refuse to release burn baby to a life in detention camp

Doctors at an Australian hospital are refusing to release a baby girl facing repatriation to an offshore immigration detention camp, adding to pressure on the government over its tough asylum seekers policy. The one-year-old girl will not be released from Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in the city of Brisbane following treatment to serious burns, until a suitable home environment is identified”, a hospital spokesman said on Saturday. A protest outside the hospital in support of the stand is growing. The girl and her parents face being returned to a camp on the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru, about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) north-east of Australia.

All decisions relating to a patient’s treatment and discharge are made by qualified clinical staff, based on a thorough assessment of the individual patient’s clinical condition and circumstances.

The hospital statement

The decision to only release the child to a suitable environment “is the case with every child who presents at the hospital”, it said. The detention centre, which houses more than 500 people, has been widely criticised for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse. Earlier this month, the High Court rejected a legal test case that challenged Australia’s right to deport 267 refugee children and their families who had been brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment. The government maintains that if it is clear migrants making perilous sea journeys will not be allowed to stay in Australia, they will not take the risk of drowing.

Brisbane baby