Transcript
Last Friday MSF was given 24 hours to cease their operations in Nauru.
Nine staff including psychiatrists and a psychologist had been providing free mental health care for nearly a year to the detainees as well as local Nauruans.
MSF's Australian executive director Paul McPhun says mental health conditions for those trapped in Nauru are absolutely devastating.
"Over the past 11 months MSF teams have treated dozens of men, women and children vicious downward spiral of despair. Shockingly of the refugee patients we treated at least 78 had attempted suicide had suicidal thoughts and inflicted self harm."
Mr McPhun says the children MSF specialists were treating were badly affected.
Mr McPhun says MSF witnessed a radical deterioration in refugee patients' mental health during its time in Nauru.
He says it was obviously because there was no end in sight to their detention.
"What's driving Nauru to make this decision, I mean within 24 hours to remove health services when our Memorandum of understanding has a mutual agreement that we will give each other three months notice in order to be able to appropriately wind-down and hand-over a programme of this complexity."
Christine Rufener worked as a clinical psychologist in Nauru and rejects the Nauru government's claim when it severed the agreement that it could meet the island's needs.
"The Nauru hospital has no psychologists or therapists on staff. There is one mental health nurse who supports Nauruan patients only and she will continue to do her best. The hospital employs one fulltime psychiatrist and that person does not even speak English. She has no translator to communicate with patients."
Dr Rufener says there are no beds at the hospital to keep severely ill and suicidal patients safe.
She says their patients told them they had been turned away from hospital and reported that police had taken to jail those who'd made suicide attempts.
Psychiatrist Beth O'Connor says the refugees and asylum seekers will now find it even more challenging to receive the critical healthcare they need off island.
She says without MSF there is no independent health assessment available.
"The process of both children and adults with mental and physical illnesses being transferred off Nauru is complicated. There is a lack of independent opinions and that is problematic."
MSF was also trying to raise awareness and reduce stigma about mental health in Nauru and the charity says that work is now over.
It says its now hugely concerned for locals' mental health too.
The charity's called for an immediate end to Australia's policy of indefinite detention and shouldn't be looked on as a model for other governments to replicate.
