Seven out of 10 Australians support sending Australian health workers to West Africa to help tackle the deadly Ebola virus, according to a new opinion poll.
The Morgan telephone poll of 647 people this week showed 70 per cent of Australians support deploying Australian doctors and nurses to the source of the outbreak, while 23 per cent were opposed and 7 per cent could not say.
The poll comes as the United States is set to open an Ebola hospital in West Africa that could treat infected Australian health workers, helping clear the way for the government to aid the ravaged region.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Canberra told Fairfax Media that a 25-bed field hospital in Liberia would be provided for health workers, including Australians, if they became infected.
"The high-quality care provided will be at no cost and on a first-come, first-served basis," the spokeswoman said, adding that the hospital would be up and running within days.
After weeks of debate about whether Australia should send health workers, the announcement appears to remove a major obstacle to sending medicos to help contain the virulent disease that has already claimed 5000 lives.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said there were Australian health personnel "willing and able" to go to West Africa to fight Ebola.
"We've heard from our close friend the United States that their field hospital will be available to treat Australian health personnel, should they need it.
"It's time for the government to explain what further impediments remain."
The finding came as the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation released the results of a survey it conducted showing more than 350 nurses and midwifes were prepared to volunteer to travel to West Africa to join the Ebola fight.
"We have been overwhelmed by the response from our members, who continue to be deeply concerned by the government's reluctance to join the international effort to fight what is rapidly becoming a devastating humanitarian crisis," ANMF federal secretary Lee Thomas said.
About 30 Australians are believed to already be working in West Africa for non-government organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Red Cross.
Kim Heriot, from Mount Martha on the fringe of Melbourne, will fly out this weekend to Liberia, where she will work as a nurse supervisor for three months through the aid agency Save the Children.
It will be the first time the 54-year-old has worked overseas in her 30-year nursing career.
Ms Heriot said she felt well informed about the risks of her task, knew how to minimise her risk of infection, and her family supported her going.
"They are happy for me that I have such an amazing opportunity to give something to a country that is in such need," she said.
Queensland doctor Matt Caffery, 37, arrived in Liberia on Monday, where he is working for Save the Children to care for the health of personnel who are treating Ebola patients.
While Australia's contribution to date has been limited to a financial contribution of $18 million, Dr Caffery said he would like to "see our own people on the ground using their world-class skills and resources".
Save the Children chief executive Paul Ronalds urged the government to follow the lead of his organisation, which plans to deploy 300 people to West Africa over coming months.
Touring Ebola-hit nations this week, US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said too many world leaders were praising the efforts of others while doing little themselves.
"You have countries at the United Nations where I work every day who are signing on to resolutions and praising the good work that the United States and the United Kingdom and others are doing. But they themselves haven't taken the responsibility yet to send docs, to send beds, to send the reasonable amount of money," she told NBC.
The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimate the number of Ebola cases in Sierra Leone and Liberia is doubling every 20 days, and by January could reach 1.4 million cases on present trends.
