16 Mar 2013

PNG hospital miffed at sick asylum seekers removal from Manus

11:51 am on 16 March 2013

The head of the hospital on Papua New Guinea's Manus island says Australia should have treated sick asylum seekers detained at its camp at the island's hospital instead of flying them to Australia.

Canberra has confirmed that 19 people, including pregnant women and children, had been taken to Australia for medical treatment.

The CEO of Manus's only major hospital, Dr Otto Numan, has told AAP that it is an insult Lorengau hospital was not approached to care for the group, saying someone is making a mockery of the PNG health system.

He says the hospital deals with two pregnancies a day and has facilities for caesarian section if necessary.

The Australian-based Refugee Action Coalition says three weeks ago the Australian Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor claimed the facilities on Manus were adequate but has since evacuated sick and pregnant asylum seekers.