UK: Mangalorean-origin nurse who took prank call about Prince William’s wife Kate found dead

UK: Mangalorean-origin nurse who took prank call about Prince William’s wife Kate found dead

Mangalore Today/ The Daily Mail

London, Dec 7:  An Mangalorean-origin nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who took a prank call at the London hospital that was treating Prince William’s pregnant wife Kate Middleton for morning sickness, has been found dead. The death comes days after the King Edward VII hospital apologised after falling for the call from an Australian radio station and relaying details about Kate’s condition.

William and Kate, who left the hospital on Thursday, said they were "deeply saddened" by the death. Two presenters from Australia’s 2Day radio station called the hospital early on Tuesday British time, pretending to be William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth and his father, the heir-to-the throne Prince Charles.

 

The family of a nurse found dead in a suspected suicide just two days after transferring a hoax call about the Duchess of Cambridge have told of their devastation at losing their ’beloved Jacintha’.

Jacintha Saldanha, also known as Jess, is thought to have come to the UK from southern India more than ten years ago and settled in the UK with her partner, 49-year-old hospital accountant Benedict Barboza.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, 46, reportedly hailing from Shirva, Udupi in Southern India, who was working on the switchboard at the King Edward VII Hospital when 2DayFM obtained intimate details about Kate, was found dead on Friday morning.

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spoke of their ’deep sadness’ at the tragedy, the grieving family of the ’excellent’ nurse said:  ’We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha.’

Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate told how they are ’deeply saddened’ by the tragedy. A Palace spokesman said the couple had not made a complaint about the prank call.

’Their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time,’ a statement said.When asked if they had expressed concern, the spokesman added: ’On the contrary we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times.’

The shock waves over the death of the nurse have spread rapidly around Australia. British-born Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the death as ’a terrible tragedy’ and, through a spokesman, passed on her deep-felt condolences to the family of Jacintha.

Jacintha Saldanha, also known as Jess, is thought to have come to the UK from southern India more than ten years ago and settled in the UK with her partner, 49-year-old hospital accountant Benedict Barboza.

 

Jacintha Saldanha- Bristol Home

The couple bought their £123,000 three-bedroomed home in 2005 in the Westbury-on-Trym district of Bristol.

After working for the North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Frenchay and Southmead hospitals, it is believed the nurse chose to apply for a job at King Edward four years ago and appears to have been living in the nursing accommodation ever since.

She has a son called Junal, 16, and daughter, believed to be 14. She stayed in London when she was working before returning to her family on days off.
News of the death broke in the middle of the night in Australia and it was only during the evening London time yesterday that Australians woke to hear about the tragedy.

It led the news on every radio station, including the national broadcaster, the ABC. It reported there had been an outpouring of anger in the UK and said thousands of people had demanded that the DJs be fired.

The Palace declined to say whether the Duchess met Jacintha Saldanha but it was very possible.

 

The King Edward VII hospital, who were not believed to be disciplining Jacintha over the incident, said it announced her death with ’very deep sadness.’
Their statement added: ’Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for more than four years. She was an excellent nurse and well respected and popular with all over her colleagues.’

The emergency services were called and two ambulances were despatched to the central London residence today. But paramedics were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family, husband and two children have been informed.

The hospital said this afternoon: ’It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Jacintha Saldanha.
Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII’s Hospital for more than four years. She was an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues.

’We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time.
Officers from Scotland Yard launched an investigation yesterday and are treating the death as ‘unexplained’.

A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister’s thoughts are with the family and colleagues of Jacintha Saldanha at this sad time.’
The exact cause of death remained unclear. However, one source indicated that the woman appeared to have killed herself.

 

 

The Prank Call

Ms Saldanha answered the hoax call at 5.30am on Wednesday morning and transferred the call through to Kate’s ward. Impersonating the Queen, Mel Greig said: ‘Oh, hello there. Could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?’

Thinking she was speaking to the Queen, the receptionist replied: ‘Oh yes, just hold on ma’am’. She then put the presenters through to one of the nurses who was caring for the Duchess.

The nurse also believed she was speaking to the Queen and went on to make a number of deeply personal observations about Kate’s health.
A recording of the entire conversation was played on the Sydney-based radio station 2Day.

A radio station spokesman later apologised for the ’inconvenience’ caused by the call.

He said yesterday: ’2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the enquiry to Kate’s hospital. The radio segment was done with the best intentions and we wish Kate and her family all the best.’

The station is owned by Southern Cross Austereo, an Australian media group formed in a merger last year that has a collection of TV and radio brands, and claims to be able to connect with 95 per cent of Australians every week.
The prank call was pre-recorded and vetted by lawyers before being broadcast in Sydney.

The presenters, from 2Day FM, remarked during their show how their efforts were the ’easiest prank call ever made’, as they put on mock British accents they later described as ’terrible’.

The Australian station and presenters advertised the stunt worldwide and Christian was continuing to boast about the prank ’making international headlines’ on Twitter.

The hospital said Jacintha Saldanha had not been disciplined over the call.
Told about the tragedy last night, Vicki Heath, a spokesman for 2DayFM, said: ‘Is this is a hoax call? You’re having me on, aren’t you?’ Assured that the call was genuine, she burst into tears.

‘I can’t believe this – I just can’t believe it,’ she said. ‘Oh my God, oh no.’
The station apologised for ’any inconvenience caused’ but provoked widespread fury and disbelief by continuing to continuing to promote its hoax, calling it ’the prank call the world is talking about’ before playing clips of the recording.
The owners of the radio station which employed Mel Greig and Michael Christian a

It is believed that senior management at 2Day FM were so shocked at the death of Jacintha that bosses have ordered the pair off the air - probably never to return.

A statement from the station owners said: ’Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward V11 Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family, and all that have been affected by this situation around the world.

’CEO Rhys Holleran has spoken with the presenters, they are both deeply shocked, and at this time we have agreed that they not comment about the circumstances.

’SCA and the hosts have decided that they will not return to their radio show, until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy.’
As the backlash grew the DJs both deleted their Twitter accounts.The radio station’s Facebook page was bombarded with thousands of abusive comments from outraged users.

She was a Lovely Woman - Neighbour

A neighbour said the family have lived in there £130,000 terraced home in Bristol for about eight years.

Jacintha lived with her husband Benedict Barboza (Ben) and son Junal, 16, and daughter, believed to be 14. She stays in London when she is working and lives with her family on days off.

The neighbour said: ’They’re a lovely family - Ben gives my lad a lift when he goes refereeing at Bristol Rovers with Junal. ’It’s so so tragic, she was such a lovely woman. She must have thought there was no way back, that’s the only thing I can think of.’ Another neighbour of Jacintha described the tragic nurse as ’a lovely woman’. Marianne Homes, 49, said: ’I’ve always known her as the doctor, she was always very smartly dressed.

’Their son was always really into football, we always saw him with a ball kicking it about with his friends. She was a lovely woman, everytime I saw her she would talk to me.

’I hadn’t seen her for a while, I wondered what had happened to her it’s so sad to know this has happened. She was always so smartly dressed and well presented. I think her kids are secondary school age, she definitely has one boy and one girl.’

A former neighbour of the nurse described her as a ’nice, lovely lady’.
Fighting back tears, she said: ’What a terrible tragedy - just before Christmas as well. Oh those two young boys - they’ll be heartbroken. Her and Ben were a lovely couple.

’They didn’t live here very long, but they were such nice neighbours - they invited us in for a curry when they moved in. They lived here seven or eight years ago, if not more. They kept themselves to themselves mostly.

They bought their own house and moved on - they were just renting here I think.

’I can’t believe what happened. It’s so sad, so tragic. They always spoke to us - she was such a nice lady. It’s devastating to hear she’s gone - and in such circumstances that could be so easily avoided.  Those Australians that called the hospital want stringing up.’

 
’A first class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds’
King Edward VII hospital spoke of the their shock at the death of Jacintha Saldanha in a statement:

’It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Jacintha Saldanha.

’Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII’s Hospital for more than four years. She was an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues.

’We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time.’
John Lofthouse, Chief Executive at King Edward VII’s Hospital, said: ’Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends. Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."
Lord Glenarthur, Chairman of King Edward VII’s Hospital, says, ’This is a tragic event. Jacintha was a first class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients during her time with us. She will be greatly missed.’

 

Courtesy : The Dailymail, London