Refugees medically evacuated from Nauru spend weeks in Brisbane hotel awaiting treatment

Two refugees who were medically evacuated from Australian offshore detention on Nauru before Christmas say they have spent weeks isolated in a Brisbane hotel while waiting for medical treatment.

Bangladeshi refugee Syed* was flown to Australia on 23 December for medical reasons. But two-and-a-half weeks later, he said he had yet to see a doctor or leave the hotel.

For two weeks he did little more than sit on his bed, unable to exercise or see his friends.

Syed arrived in Nauru in 2013 after fleeing Bangladesh. His claim to refugee status was recognised in 2015, but he is still waiting for a resolution of his case.

Rodan*, who arrived in Brisbane three weeks ago, is also waiting to receive further medical treatment.

Rodan weighed just 55kg when he was pulled out of Nauru and flown straight to the emergency department of a Brisbane hospital on 15 December.

He stayed there for five days, undergoing routine health checks before being moved into immigration detention in the hotel.

For the past three years, Rodan has suffered from urinary frequency and a hernia. His condition sees him use the bathroom more than 10 times a day.

He also requires treatment for a broken finger that he said he sustained when he was physically assaulted by another asylum seeker on Nauru in 2018.

Rodan was offered medical assistance in Nauru but said he declined after seeing friends receive inadequate treatment.

The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment.

A report published in December 2021 revealed some asylum seekers had waited more than two years to receive medical treatment for multiple chronic and serious health conditions.

Rintoul is calling for the government to bring asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Australia.

* Names have been changed