Mental Health Awareness Week next week (14-20th May) comes just a month after the price of prescription drugs was raised to £8.80. The rise, added to the crippling debt students already face will no doubt be a bigger pill to swallow for the 1 in 4 students (YouGov) who suffer from mental health problems.
Louis Slingsby, a first year student at a London university, age 21, who suffers from depression said: “My card was declined at the pharmacists. My entire student loan goes on accommodation, I work as many hours as possible when juggling a degree but before payday and at the end of term I’ve had to go days and even weeks without meds simply because I can’t afford them.”
He goes on to explain: “I’ve had to borrow from friends when things got really hard, because anti-depressants aren’t something you can go without. Not being able to take the medication you need to get by can be very dangerous.”
Students struggle to afford mental health medication as prescription prices rise and deadlines loom.
Dr Vera Ora, leading psychiatrist in her field says something needs to be done about this: “We need to remember that our students are the people that create the future for next generations and if we don’t adequately support them how can we expect them to succeed?
From a professional perspective, it’s vital they get the help they need.”Whilst other demographics across the UK struggling for money (such as those on benefits or low incomes) are granted free prescriptions, there is no readily accessible system for helping students - despite the suicide rate of undergraduates being at a record breaking high in 2017.
If you or anyone you know has been effected by mental health issues and wants to seek help, find out more information at www.samaritans.org.