In an encouraging act of solidarity, doctors at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital have declared that they will not discharge asylum-seeker children back into detention.
They are calling for an end to the policy of locking asylum seeker children in detention.
Up to 1,000 doctors, nurses and clinical health staff rallied at the hospital on 10 October. Staff simply chanted “No!” while holding their fists in the air behind a banner reading “Detention harms children”.
One paediatrician, speaking to the Herald Sun, said: “We see a whole range of physical, mental, emotional and social disturbances that are really severe and we have no hope of improving these things when we have to discharge our patients back into detention”.
“Detention causes harm and it must end. Children in detention have nightmares, bed-wetting, and behaviour problems”, another said.
Earlier this year, a child at the hospital was not released for more than a month due to concerns for the child’s welfare.
