A WOMAN has been left “fearing for her life” after the oxygen machine she relies on 24/7 to prevent serious asthma attacks broke and the NHS “pulled the plug on her prescription”.

Kerry Johnston, 46, suffers from type 2 brittle asthma which causes sudden and life-threatening asthma attacks unless she is hooked up to an oxygen machine.

Kerry, who lives in Pantile Avenue, Southend, has been mostly-housebound since the machine broke last month and claims she was told the “machine could not be replaced because her prescription had been cancelled”.

Ms Johnston has forked out £2,500 herself on a new machine. However it is a lower quality than the NHS issued equipment.

She is down to just three remaining oxygen tanks and claims she is unable to get more because her “prescription was cancelled without her knowledge”.

As a result of her condition, Ms Johnston has been in intensive care six times in the past ten years.

The Essex Partnership University NHS Trust told the Echo it cannot comment on individual cases but insisted staff are committed to the best possible patient care.

Ms Johnston said: “I feel that no one is listening to me, that nobody cares about my situation and that I have no voice.

“I am terrified I will be sofa-bound 24/7 unless we somehow manage to get more oxygen tanks and paying for my own oxygen machine is an unbelievable financial hit.

“This is a life and death situation, I have had numerous intensive care visits and I have been told that I have gone into peri-arrest, the stage before your heart totally stops, as a result.”

Ms Johnston added the ordeal is having a huge impact on her already struggling mental health.

“Mentally, the impact on me has been horrendous, I fear I will be left to waste away here without support,” she said.

A spokesperson for Essex Partnership University NHS Trust said: “We can’t share information about care and treatment of an individual patient, however we regularly review the care and treatment of those using our services and where patients have been assessed as no longer clinically requiring oxygen support services we support discharge from the service in a planned phased way.

“We would urge anyone with concerns about their care to contact us so that we can provide the support that they need – our staff are focussed on providing the best possible individual care at all times.”