All The Lives She Saved

Available for over a year

Beth Matthews achieved a lot before taking her own life with a poisonous substance she obtained online while staying as an in-patient at a psychiatric unit. She was a record-breaking sailor and a mental health blogger with tens of thousands of followers. Beth's sister, Lucy, and her dad, Chris, have been told that her openness about her health struggles in her tweets and blogs saved many people's lives. In this episode of 5 Minutes On, they share family memories of Beth with BBC correspondent Angus Crawford. They also speak about their pride in the positive messages Beth spread when she blogged about her recovery from an earlier, failed suicide attempt. An inquest jury has said that the care Beth received as an NHS patient at a private hospital in Cheadle in Greater Manchester was inadequate and that neglect was a factor in her death. The Priory Group has said it apologises "unreservedly for the shortcomings in care”. If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed you can get details of organisations that can help from the BBC Action Line: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline.