CANBERRA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The president of Australia's peak medical body has called on the nation's prime minister to remove asylum seekers from indefinite detention on Nauru.

Tony Bartone, president of the Australian Medical Association, on Thursday wrote to PM Scott Morrison "demanding a change of policy" regarding the detention of asylum seekers.

Under the current system, people caught coming to Australia by boat are detained indefinitely on Nauru.

Bartone said the mental and physical wellbeing of the detainees had become "a humanitarian emergency requiring urgent intervention."

According to reports, 20 out of the 100 children in detention on Nauru are at risk of permanent harm or death.

Bartone asked Morrison to facilitate access to Nauru for a delegation of Australian doctors, saying that making their findings public would "assure the Australian public that the Australian government has done all that is possible to protect the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees."

Bartone also wrote to every member of parliament asking them to support his initiative.

He said he was inspired to write the letters by the escalation in reports of catastrophic mental and physical health conditions being experienced by the asylum seekers, especially children.