A Brisbane hospital is refusing to discharge an asylum seeker toddler who has been recovering from burns, in a bid to prevent the Turnbull government from returning her to immigration detention at Nauru.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital said it was treating a 12-month-old girl from Nauru who “will only be discharged once a suitable home environment is identified”, as was the case with every child who presented at the hospital.

“All decisions relating to a patient’s treatment and discharge are made by qualified clinical staff, based on a thorough assessment of the individual patient’s clinical condition and circumstances, and with the goal of delivering the best outcome,” the spokesperson said.

Getup human rights director Shen Narayanasamy said the child’s mother “feels safer now that the doctors are trying to protect her child from the clearly abusive conditions Asha [a pseudonym] faces upon return to detention”.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s chief medical officer Dr John Brayley this week told a Senate estimates hearing that keeping children in detention has a “deleterious” effect on their mental health.

Rallies have been held overnight outside the outside with more planned.