The inquest on Royal Nurse Jacintha Saldanha suicide over a prank call by radio DJs will take place in London on Thursday.
Jacintha Saldanha was a nurse at King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes. She was found dead on 7th December 2012 by apparent suicide, three days after receiving a hoax call. The prank call was part of the Hot30 Countdown radio programme, broadcast on the Austereo-owned station Day FM in Sydney, Australia.
In it, the hosts impersonated the Queen and the Prince of Wales enquiring about the health of the Duchess of Cambridge, who was, at the time, a patient staying at the hospital. Saldhana fell for the hoax and transferred the call to the nurse looking after the Duchess. A hospital spokesperson said that she was the “victim of a cruel journalistic trick”. Saldanha was from Mangalore, Karnataka, India, and had been working in Britain for about 10 years.
Keith Vaz MP, who was campaigning for getting justice for Jacintha and her family, said:
“This inquest will finally take place after a wait of over a 21 months. It is has been a long road for the family and I deeply admire the patience, humility and dignity they have shown throughout this traumatic time. It is right that they finally gain closure.
“Jacintha’s family were delighted to hear the news, announced this week, that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her second child, and want to pass on their heartfelt congratulations to the couple.”