Canberra-based Aspen Medical has been engaged to manage and run a 48-bed hospital and is recruiting to employ more than 70 staff.

The latest World Health Organisation report says at least 250,000 people have been displaced from Mosul since October and 2.7 million need health services.

The report cites concern with access to care in recently liberated areas due to volatile security, movement restrictions, water and fuel shortages.

Disease surveillance has been stepped up in response to poor sanitation.

WHO contracted Aspen Medical to run the new facility south of Mosul at the request of the Iraqi Government.

Aspen Medical co-executive chairmen Glenn Keys and Dr Andrew Walker said the Australian firm was well equipped for the challenges following successful missions in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and West Africa.

Mr Keys said there had been a significant increase in trauma casualties around Mosul, including many civilians.

"Those casualties aren't coming just from being involved in the conflict. There's also dehydration and malnutrition," he said.

"The casualties, particularly women and children, are very high."

Dr Walker said the facility would provide trauma care, maternity and paediatric services.

"People are still giving birth," he said.

"It's a city of 1.2 million people and life goes on, despite the horrors unfolding around them.

"Our mission is not just to provide these services but to build capacity.

"Our aim is to get this up and running and slowly give it back to the Iraqi people so they have a facility they can call their own, staff, manage and run.

"We see this not just as a humanitarian project, but as part of rebuilding the health spine in northern Iraq."

A former Australian Army officer, Dr Walker said security was paramount.

"The first thought we had was that if we can't ensure the security of our personnel, we won't deploy," he said.

"We've taken every step possible to make sure there's personal protection of our staff.

"There are Iraqi forces between us and the frontline, which is comforting.

"It's not for the fainthearted, but the people going are well aware of the risks and we'll do everything we can to assure their protection.

"We accept the risk, understand the risk and work to mitigate the risk."

Dr Walker said improvised explosive devices posed one of the biggest threats.

"The facility is completely self contained and when people arrive they will stay for the duration of their deployment [4-6 weeks rotation]," he said.

"We're keeping any movement of vehicles to an absolute minimum to reduce the risk. Once they arrive, that's where they stay."

Victorian nurse Vesna Courtot is on her second overseas mission, her first in a war zone. She went to West Africa with Aspen Medical in 2014-15 during the Ebola outbreak.

"When I told my family and friends I was heading to a conflict zone their responses ranged from support to some questioning my sanity," she said.

"The dreadful situation for the people of Mosul has been unfolding before our eyes over the past weeks and as a nurse it is difficult not to want to help no matter what the environment is like.

"I'm expecting to deal with mass casualties including burns, orthopaedic injuries and surgical emergencies.

"I am also expecting an opportunity to learn from Iraqi healthcare professionals who have been dealing with this day-in-day-out for years."

Head nurse Taryn Anderson also worked in Sierra Leone on the Ebola response.

"The morale is high even though living standards are austere, but we do know that every medical facility around us is working to their full capacity and beyond so we expect to be busy," she said.

"We look forward to sharing ideas, collaborating and learning from our experienced Iraqi colleagues and hope that we can leave behind a hospital that provides a western standard of care that they can be proud of."

Mr Keys said staff were assessed for their psychological suitability.

"We've learnt a lot from the work we've done elsewhere about picking the right people," he said.

"You can have someone who's a great clinician but they can't necessarily work in an environment like this because their personality type won't match it.

"It's a challenging environment and they're seeing some horrific things.

"We also support people when they come home with mental health; it's recognised the unseen damage can be significant."