Hamid Kehazaei: The Australian government must explain why he received inadequate care

Processing asylum seekers is an immigration decision, but ensuring their health is an issue of human rights. The two positions are not, and must not be, mutually exclusive
Nick Talley theguardian.com, Wednesday 3 September 2014 Jump to comments (88)

Asylum seeker Hamid Kehazaei. Photograph: Refugee Action Coalition
We should all be deeply concerned about reports of a 24-year-old Iranian, Hamid Kehazaei, recently flown to the Australian mainland from Manus Island after a cut on his foot developed into septicaemia. He is now on life support and the most recent reports are saying he is brain dead.
This case raises a whole host of questions. Was there a delay in diagnosis? Was there a delay in transferring him for medical treatment? While the facts of this case are still to be determined, what is becoming clear is the inadequate care being provided to people seeking asylum.
The standard of medical facilities in offshore detention must be questioned, as well as the timeliness of medical care. Delays in accessing necessary treatment mean that simple and easily treatable health conditions can deteriorate rapidly and become life threatening. The inadequate medical care received by people seeking asylum is having devastating consequences.
The Australian government says that they are providing health care services that are ‘broadly comparable with health services available within the Australian community’. I don’t believe this standard is being met. Had the Manus Island detention facility been adequately equipped to provide this young man with the healthcare he needed when he needed it, the outcome may have been very different.
The government has a lot of questions to answer. We need to know why this man did not receive adequate medical care in the first place. We need to know why there was a delay in transferring him once his condition deteriorated.
It is critical that the government is guided by independent expert medical advice, and that services are able to address complex health matters quickly and appropriately. Without this, it will be increasingly difficult for the government to respond to the growing concerns over conditions in offshore detention centres and the negative impact on asylum seeker health.
The government’s approach to processing asylum seekers is an immigration decision, but ensuring their health is an issue of human rights. The two positions are not, and must not be, mutually exclusive.
Professor Nick Talley is the president of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Read more http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/03/hamid-kehazaei-the-australian-government-must-explain-why-he-received-inadequate-care