Mental health workers providing care to refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru have left the island after being told their presence was "no longer required".
Medecins Sans Frontieres - also known as Doctors Without Borders - confirmed on Wednesday its international staff have left the Pacific island, five days after the organisation was told its services were being terminated.
The organisation says it is deeply concerned for the health and well-being of its patients on Nauru, describing the mental health of detainees as "beyond desperate".
Vital mental health support services for refugee detainees on Nauru have been scrapped. Source: AAP
The abrupt dismissal follows a report by two prominent Australian refugee organisations saying most refugee children on Nauru are experiencing life-threatening mental health problems, including not eating or drinking and suicidal symptoms.
Advocacy group Refugee Action Coalition said MSF's absence would "add enormously to the distress among asylum seekers and refugees" because the Australian government's contracted mental health care provider, International Health and Medical Services, was "stretched to breaking point".
