A young woman suffering from severe anorexia was asked by nurses what her “secret to being thin” was shortly before she died, her grieving father told a coroner’s inquest.
Jennifer Michelle Matters, 22, took her life in May 2021 after a two-year battle with an eating disorder.
The Adelaide nursing graduate and advanced biomedical sciences student told friends and family she was simply “exhausted” at the time of her death, weighing just 29.5kg.
Matters’ death is now the focus of a coroner’s inquest that began on Monday, where details of her struggle with anorexia were laid bare.
Shaun Matters told the inquest his daughter has been admitted to Flinders Medical Center countless times after her diagnosis.
She recalled how the staff often treated Jenni like a burden and claimed that on one occasion two nurses asked her for advice on diet, Advertiser reported.
“One day the nurse said to Jenni ‘Oh, you’re so skinny’ and describing the eating disorder as skinny is a badge of honour, it’s not something you do with eating disorder patients,” Matters told the inquest.
‘Another nurse asked for dietary advice. She said ‘what’s your secret’?
A coroner’s inquest into the death of Jennifer Michelle Matters (pictured) has heard about the struggles she faced with hospital staff as she battled anorexia for two years.
Jenni Matters (pictured) weighed just 29.5kg at the time of her death.
Jenni’s hospital admissions were both voluntary and involuntary.
She sought help from her family doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist and dietitian during her two-year battle.
His heartbroken father felt that the nurses wanted the anorexic patients to leave so there would be room for the “real patients.”
He described the experience on the hospital ward as very bad and claimed some staff lacked empathy towards patients.
Mr. Matters claimed to have heard a nurse describe Ms. Matters as “the anorexic in the corner who needs to be seen eating” on another occasion.
“We had to leave our daughter, whom we loved very much, and tell her that it was the best place for her,” he said.
‘What the staff doesn’t understand is that no one chooses this, it’s not a choice, it’s an illness. It is a devastating disease.
“They need to know that it’s a disease that people have to try to recover from, which is what makes it so difficult.”
Matters added that the lack of funding for those struggling with eating disorders was also a major issue.
The inquest also heard how Matters hoped her death would “help others, even just one person” and that the provision of eating disorder services would be reviewed.
His father, Shaun Matters (pictured), told the Adelaide Coroner’s Court that a nurse had asked him what his “dietary advice” was while seeking treatment for the illness.
Matters told friends and family that she was simply “exhausted” before taking her life in May 2021, weighing just 29.5kg.
Outside court, Matters described his daughter as a “wonderful person” who wanted to “help people.”
“(She) was suffering from a horrible illness, but she still wanted to help people until the end,” he told reporters.
I hoped the research would highlight the lack of resources allocated to providing care for anorexia and other eating disorders.
“If the state and federal governments provide more care, better training and more resources…then it won’t all be in vain,” Matters said.
The investigation continues.
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline: 13 11 14, Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673.