The use of prescription anti-depressants for asylum seekers suffering from sleeplessness has been added to growing concerns around the mental health of detainees in Australia.
Last night's Four Corners program, Asylum, revealed how the treatment of asylum seekers in Australian detention centres has the potential to create a generation of people with major mental health problems.
This morning, 105.7 Breakfast continued the conversation with psychiatrist Suresh Sundaram, who has also witnessed numerous cases of mental illness amongst detainees in Darwin's detention centres.
He said a culture of sleeplessness and distress was prevalent in the centres, and that the administration of prescription drugs was one of many concerns.
"We've seen a lot of asylum seekers in detention who've got a lot of mental health problems," he said.
"The drugs are one of many concerns we had - people are simply anxious and depressed."
He said an anti-depressant drug - Mirtazapine - which causes sedation, has been prescribed to numerous detainees, some of which Dr Suresh believes were to treat sleeplessness.
He said in many cases, sleeplessness was caused by the lack of recreation and occupational activities to keep detainees occupied.
"In Australia we don't use this medication purely for the treatment of sleeplessness as such.
"It would appear from our observation that the medication is been prescribed by doctors in the detention network for sleeplessness - it seems that's the major reason," he said.
"That would be entirely appropriate if the person had depression and the symptom of the depression was sleeplessness...What we're seeing is anybody who presents with sleeplessness is being prescribed with Mirtazapine."
Dr Suresh called for an addressing of the cause of why people are sleepless, saying also that more widely, the treatment of asylum seekers in Darwin was significantly psychologically damaging.
"The Darwin centre, like all the other immigration detention centres looks like and functions like a prison and that's extremely deleterious," he said.
Catch up on the Four Corners "Asylum" program throughiView
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