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The inquest at Manchester South Coroners’ Court heard how weeks before her death she told a member of staff she could purchase something “to do the job”.

Another care worker wrote in her notes that everything Ms Matthews received “must be checked”, and stated “we need to be opening her parcels for her”.

But the court heard she was allowed to open the package, which she had ordered from Russia, with two staff monitoring her at arm’s length.

Blogger bought substance from Russia, inquest hears
Blogger ‘restrained’ before swallowing substance
Blogger told staff about buying substance - inquest
The jury found the supervising staff were “unable to prevent her from consuming” the substance and the evidence demonstrated there had been a “frequent deviation” from her care plan.

The Priory Group admitted the plan had not been followed and if it had, Ms Matthews would not have been able to ingest the substance.

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The mental health blogger, who was described in court as “vivacious” and “bright”, had tens of thousands of social media followers.

Psychiatrist Dr Alind Srivastava, who works for the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, previously told the jury she “did a lot of good on social media in helping other people, in explaining what happened to her”.

A spokesman for the Priory Group said: “We fully accept the jury’s findings and acknowledge that far greater attention should have been given to Beth’s care plan.

“At the time of Beth’s unexpected death, we took immediate steps to address the issues around how we document risk and communicate patients’ care plans, alongside our processes for receiving and opening post.

“We want to extend our deepest condolences to Beth’s family and friends for their loss. Beth’s attempts to overcome her mental health challenges had been an inspiration for many.

“Although unexpected deaths are extremely rare, we recognise that every loss of life in our care is a tragedy.”

Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal
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The Priory said it accepted the inquest’s findings
Speaking after the jury delivered their conclusions, Assistant Coroner Andrew Bridgman offered his condolences to Ms Matthews’ family.

He said: “There are no words to express for the loss of your daughter. The loss of a child is something no person should have to suffer.”

The Priory Group spokesman added: “Patient safety is our utmost priority and we will now review the coroner’s comments in detail and make all necessary, additional changes to our policies and procedures.”