A woman who is on a disability-support pension after multiple suicide attempts has been forced to sell her jewellery and skip meals to pay for her anti-depressants.
Leslie Rump, 61, from Port Stephens, north of Sydney, has been calculating every cost she has to outlay for the past two years, and doesn’t know what she will do when her last batch of anti-depressants runs out, 7News reported.
Ms Rump is currently taking the medication Zyban for her severe clinical depression, which costs her $176 a month because it is not subsidised by the government.
Now Ms Rump has run out of jewellery to sell, and currently owes $1,300 in medical bills after two recent operations on her knee and back.
Ms Rump (pictured) is struggling to survive off her $945 fortnightly disability pension because her ‘life-saving’ anti-depressant is not subsidised by the government
Ms Rump has called her situation ‘desperate’.
Zyban, which Ms Rump has called ‘lifesaving’, is not on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme because its first use isn’t for depression.
The medications primary use is to wean smokers off an addiction to nicotine, but Ms Rump has never smoked and uses the medication for her debilitating depression.
Ms Rump has been forced to sell her jewellery and skip meals to afford her medication
Leslie said she has no choice but to remain on the medication because she was treatment resistant for four years, which resulted in a suicide attempt.
She has tried multiple anti-depressants and even elected to receive Electric Compulsive Therapy (ECT), which didn’t help.
Zyban was ‘pretty much my last hope’, she said.
In November of last year Ms Rump had a knee replacement which left her $1300 out of pocket, that she still owes to the hospital.
She has also had three operations on her back due to a rare infection in the bone, which has resulted in all five of her lumbar vertebrae to be fused, as well as the loss of two vertebrae and a disc.
Since the operation Ms Rump has cancelled her house and contents insurance, and said her car is ‘virtually uninsured’.
Ms Rump struggles to live off her disability pension, which is $945 a fortnight.
She pays $100 a month in council rates, $190 off her home loan each fortnight, $50 for water, $200 every three months for electricity and $200 in health insurance.
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Leslie’s only companions are a dog, rabbit and a bird, but Ms Rump fears they will need to go to the vet, which she can’t afford
To cut costs Ms Rump doesn’t own a mobile phone and instead pays $29 for a landline, and says she got a good deal on her Wi-Fi.
Ms Rump has little money left for fuel and groceries, so she drinks water and eats what she has in the freezer, until another fortnightly payment comes in.
The last time Ms Rump visited the dentist she couldn’t pay the $27 fee which made her feel ’embarrassed’.
She currently has pain in her teeth from a loose inlay but cannot afford to visit the dentist, so instead she uses mouthwash and tries not to chew on that particular side.
Leslie has three children, each of whom aren’t in a position to support their mother.
‘My kids lend me the other $800 for out of pocket bills from the surgeon and anesthetist, but I have to pay them back’, she said.
A bird, dog and a rabbit keep Leslie company at home, but she remains in constant fear one of the animals will need to visit the vet, which she can’t afford.
Ms Rump is currently appealing to the government for help.
Leslie Rump currently owes $1300 for a knee replacement surgery, and cannot afford to go to the dentist
Services Australia and the Australian Government Department of Health have both looked into Leslie’s case, the former reaching out to her to provide support.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health said Primary Health Networks (PHNs) are funded to ensure the right care is provided in the right place at the right time.
‘PHNs have a role in the coordination of services for chronic conditions, including the provision of mental health support’.
When asked about the Zyban prescription, the spokesperson said there were twenty- two subsidised antidepressant medicines available for as little as $6.60 per script.
‘Over 29 million PBS prescriptions for antidepressant medicines were subsidised in 2019-20, at a cost to the Australian Government of almost $184 million.’
Do you or anyone you know need help? Call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Source: Daily Mail
