Nurses asked anorexic woman 'what's your secret to staying skinny?' just before she died

A young woman with was asked about her "secret to being skinny" just before she took her own life.

Jennifer Michelle Matters was just 22 years old at the time of her tragic death in May 2021 afterfor two years. Jennifer - a nursing graduate studying advanced biomedical science from Adelaide, - weighed just 65lb when her body was found. She took her life after telling her loved ones she was simply "exhausted".

On Monday, an inquest began into the she experienced and how she was admitted to Flinders Medical Centre on several occasions after being diagnosed with the according to her grieving father Shaun. He alleges that people in positions of trust made unthinkable comments for someone in her condition, with two nurses asking her for diet tips.

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"One day and 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," Mr Matters told the inquest, according to the . "Another nurse asked for diet tips. She said 'what's your secret'?"

During her two-year battle, she was admitted to hospital voluntarily and involuntarily, and sought help from her GP, psychologist, psychiatrist and even a dietician. Her devastated dad said staff at the hospital treated patients with anorexia with less empathy than those with other psychiatric conditions. Giving evidence at his daughter's inquest, he said: "The hospital ward experience was very poor, because some of the staff lacked empathy for mental health [patients].

"You got the feeling sometimes that staff had the sense that if 'the anorexic' would leave, they would have space for 'real patients'. We experienced nurses that just didn't understand an eating disorder and didn't understand mental health ingeneral."

Shaun claims he overheard a nurse describing his severely unwell child as "the anorexic in the corner that you need to watch eat". He added: "We had to leave our daughter, that we loved dearly, and tell her it was the best place for her. What the staff don't understand is that no one chooses this, it's not a choice, it's a disease. It's a devastating illness. They need to know it's a disease people have to try and recover from, which is what it makes it so difficult."

Funding is another major issue for individuals struggling with eating disorders, Shaun added. He said: "You can see the funding for other conditions, stroke, heart attack, cancer. If you're suffering from cancer, the public system funds you for treatments you require. That's wildly different with mental health and eating disorders, that you're funded for a certain number of sessions with GAP payments, and you have to wait for psychology sessions because it's so hard to get into the private sector. It really leaves patients on their own."

The inquest heard how Jenni had hoped her death would "help others, even just one person" and reform the "whole system on how eating disorders are treated nationally." Outside court, Shaun described his daughter as a "wonderful person" who just wanted "to help people".

"[She] was suffering a horrible disease, but still wanted to help people to the end," he said. He hopes the inquest will highlight the lack of resources allocated for anorexia and eating disorder care. He said: "If more focus, better training and more resources [are given] from the state and federal government... then it won't all be for nothing."

The inquest continues.

If you're worried about your health or the health of somebody else, you can contact SEED eating disorder support service on 01482 718130 or on their website, .

For mental support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at or visit to find your nearest branch.