8 out of 9 overdosed backpackers in Perth must pay medical bills

Eight out of nine backpackers who overdosed on the pharmaceutical drug hyoscine must pay their medical bills. The foreign nationals, who were rushed to three separate Perth hospitals on Tuesday after snorting a white substance that included the anti-motion sickness medication, will face thousands of dollars in life-saving medical treatment.

On Tuesday, the foreigners — five French nationals, two Germans, one Moroccan and one Italian — were rushed by ambulance to the hospital after they snorted a white substance delivered in a package to the house they shared on Colombo Street, Victoria Park. The package was addressed to someone who did not live at the property, but that didn’t stop them from opening it. They found white powder wrapped in a piece of paper with the word “scoop” written on the outside.

As The West Australian notes, another name for hyoscine is scopolamine, which could possibly explain “scoop.” The group thought that the powder was cocaine, and so they divided it into nine equal portions before snorting their share.

The Italian, who gave his first name as Simone, said he became paralysed and unable to scream for help upon taking the drug. Fortunately, another housemate, who had been out for the evening, came home to find them urgently needing medical care.

Eight of the group have since been released from the hospitals following their urgent and life-saving treatment. One Frenchman is still in a critical condition in Royal Perth Hospital.

As foreign nationals, they are not eligible to receive Medicare benefits and thus all but one of them must pay for their hospital bill, which could rack up to thousands of dollars. Simone, being an Italian national, would be spared from the cost.

Italy has reciprocal health care agreement with Australia. Its citizens are allowed to receive Medicare benefits in the country if they need treatment. In return, Australian citizens would also receive the same free medical treatment in Italy. The other countries with reciprocal agreement with Australia are the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Malta, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden.

As the ABC reports, the other eight overseas nationals could face thousands of medical bill, depending on the treatment they received. A visit to the emergency ward at Royal Perth Hospital costs $274, while an overnight stay costs $2,586.

It’s unknown if they took out overseas student health insurance upon coming to Australia. However, even if they did, their medical emergency would probably not be covered as claims relating to excessive alcohol or drug-taking would not be paid out, according to Insurance Council of Australia general communications manager Campbell Fuller.

What is hyoscine

Hyoscine is a prescription drug that is used to treat motion sickness and postoperative nausea. However, it is criminally used as a date rape drug as well because its anaesthetic effect can put overdosed victims into a zombie-like state.

Investigation ongoing

Police acting deputy commissioner Gary Budge said they are investigating the source of the drugs. The owners of the backpackers’ house are also under investigation by the Victoria Park council for apparently illegally using the property as a backpacker hostel, the AAP reports.