RACGP calls for gag on health professionals to be lifted on World Refugee Day
20 June 2015
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has united with other medical colleges, nurses, psychologists and other health professionals to call for changes to new laws that threaten health and medical workers with jail.
Voicing concerns on World Refugee Day, RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones said the Australian Border Force Act 2015 threatened health and medical professionals who disclosed information about conditions in immigration detention centres with up to two years jail.
“As doctors we must be protected to speak up on behalf of our patients, particularly the most vulnerable, so they can receive the healthcare they need,” Dr Jones said.
“It is completely unacceptable for the Federal Government to threaten doctors and other health and medical professionals who act in the best interests of their patients with prosecution and a potential jail term.
“Urgent amendments to the Act are needed so doctors and other health professionals can be assured they will be protected if they act in the best interests of their patients,” Dr Jones said.
Other health groups calling for the Act to be amended include the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Australian Psychological Society, the Public Health Association of Australia and the Australian College of Nursing.
Dr Jones said the RACGP had long called for an end to mandatory detention on humanitarian grounds and the establishment of an independent panel of health professionals.
“This panel is needed to provide advice and oversight of health and healthcare in detention facilities, on and off shore, and the panel should consult with health professionals.
“It is also important to realise the health impacts of detention do not end when an asylum seeker or refugee is released from detention.
“The reality is that often asylum seekers and refugees deal with the ongoing health effects of detention for many years and even the rest of their lives.
“GPs working throughout Australia see these patients on a daily basis and we are particularly concerned for children who can carry the impact of detention throughout their lives,” Dr Jones said.
The RACGP is the peak professional body for general practice in Australia representing almost 30,000 members working in or towards a career in general practice.