Erin Patterson approved for taxpayer-funded Ozempic while serving life sentence at Melbourne prison

Triple murderer Erin Patterson has reportedly added Ozempic to her prison routine, with the taxpayer footing the bill for the weight-loss drug as she serves life behind bars.

The convicted mushroom killer, 51, has been approved for the injections while being held in solitary confinement at Melbourne’s maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

The medication was reportedly prescribed in recent weeks as Patterson awaits a decision on whether she will be granted a retrial, The Herald Sun revealed.

Patterson became one of Australia’s most notorious killers after she was found guilty last year of murdering three relatives with a death cap mushroom-laced beef Wellington.

Her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, died after attending the deadly lunch.

Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 71, survived, with Patterson also convicted of his attempted murder.

She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years and has remained one of the country’s highest-profile prisoners.

Now, attention has turned from what Patterson served for lunch to what she is being prescribed behind bars.

A prison source claimed her access to Ozempic had raised eyebrows among staff.

“Staff safety is a huge concern, yet management appear more concerned about the weight of a convicted killer,” they said.

The Herald Sun claimed they suggested Patterson’s isolation and limited opportunities to exercise were likely factors behind the decision.

But the Department of Justice and Community Safety insists weight-loss medications are not simply handed out to prisoners hoping to shed a few kilos.

“Prescriptions are only given by clinicians when there’s a clear medical need – like preventing serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes,” a spokesperson said.

Patterson’s struggles with her weight and eating habits are not new revelations.

During her blockbuster trial, she told the court she had struggled with binge eating for years and experienced body image issues from a young age.

The evidence emerged while Patterson was explaining why she had eaten several pieces of cake following the fatal lunch before later vomiting.

Her conditions behind bars were also laid bare during sentencing proceedings.

Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC said Patterson had been spending about 22 hours each day inside her cell because of prison lockdowns caused by staff shortages.

She was reportedly allowed into a small courtyard for just one hour a day.

Justice Christopher Beale later said there was a “substantial chance” Patterson could remain in solitary confinement for years, potentially decades, because of the extraordinary notoriety surrounding her case.

And Patterson is apparently not the first convicted Victorian killer to have weight-loss medication approved behind bars.

Access to drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro has become available to Victorian prisoners following serious concerns about obesity and associated health conditions in the prison system.

One inmate gained 117kg in just three years behind bars before dying from an enlarged heart in 2021, weighing 199kg.

Ozempic is generally subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for eligible patients with type 2 diabetes, bringing the cost down to about $25 a month from roughly $134.

Other medications, including Mounjaro, can cost members of the public hundreds of dollars each month.

The use of taxpayer-funded weight-loss medication for convicted killers has already sparked a political fight.

Opposition corrections spokesperson Brad Battin argued prisoners looking to lose weight should instead be prescribed a considerably more old-fashioned combination — “diet and exercise”.

“Ben Carroll says he respects taxpayers’ money,” he said.

“This doesn’t look like respect for taxpayers, and it certainly doesn’t look like respect for victims.”

For Patterson, who has always maintained her innocence, the injections come as she waits on a considerably bigger decision.

The Court of Appeal is yet to determine whether the woman serving at least 33 years behind bars for the deadly mushroom lunch will be given another chance to argue her case.