An organisation representing surgeons has accused the Abbott government of threatening public health by rushing medical checks for asylum seekers.
The Coalition has set a 48-hour turnaround policy for medical checks to be conducted on asylum seekers on Christmas Island before they are transferred to Manus Island or Nauru.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians believes such checks should take up to two months, in order to rule out serious diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis and typhoid.
The College's President Elect, Professor Nicholas Talley has told Michael Kenny he believes the federal government is not acting responsibly.
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